Carl Walther
Not to be confused with the American Lutheran evangelist, C. F. W. Walther.Carl Wilhelm Freund Walther (22 November 1858 – 9 July 1915) was a German gunsmith from Zella-Mehlis, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who founded the firm of Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen, generally known as Walther, in 1886.Carl Walther's father, August Theodor Albert Walther, was a brass and iron caster. His mother, Rosalie Wilhelmine Amalie Pistor, came from the gunsmith family of Pistor, and was the daughter of William Pistor. Carl Walther studied under gunsmith Willibald Barthelmes, and later under Albin Schneider. He worked making Mauser rifles for the Jopp company in Zella-Mehlis. In the Fall of 1886 he opened his own gunshop in Zella-Mehlis and soon hired additional workmen to meet the demand for the sports rifles he made. In 1888, he married Minna Georgine Pickert, the daughter of the revolver manufacturer Christian Friedrich Pickert, and they had five sons. In 1903, after three of his sons entered the firm, the focus turned to the production of pistols. In 1908 Carl Walther together with Fritz Walther, his the eldest son, designed and produced the first usable German self-loading pistol. Fritz Walther took over the management of the firm after his father's death in 1915.
Personal facts
| Birth date | November 22, 1858 |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Carl Wilhelm Freund Walther |
| Date of death | July 09, 1915 |
| Spouse | Minna Georgine Pickert |