Thomas Crosley Johnson was an American firearms designer. The son of a President of the Yale Safe and Iron Company, Johnson was trained as an industrial engineer and worked for several companies before coming to the Winchester Repeating Arms Company

Winchester Repeating Arms Company

The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American maker of repeating firearms, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Winchester brand is today used under license by two subsidiaries of the Herstal Group, Fabrique Nationale of Belgium and the Browning Arms Company of Morgan, Utah.-...

. While working for Winchester, Johnson was responsible for some of Winchester's most memorable gun designs, including the Model 1903

Winchester Model 1903

The Winchester Model 1903 was the first commercially available semi-automatic firearm firearm made by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company.-History:...

 and Model 1905

Winchester Model 1905

The Winchester Model 1905 , is a blowback-operated, semi-automatic rifle produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company beginning in 1905 and discontinued in 1920. This rifle loads cartridges from a 5 or 10-round capacity, detachable box magazine located immediately forward of the trigger guard...

, respectively the first commercially-available rimfire and centerfire self-loading rifles, Model 1911

Winchester Model 1911

The Winchester Model 1911 SL Shotgun was a self-loading, recoil-operated shotgun produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company from 1911 to 1925...

 self-loading shotgun, the Model 12

Winchester Model 1912

The Winchester Model 1912 is a hammerless slide-action, i.e., pump-action, shotgun with an external tube magazine. Popularly-named the Perfect Repeater at its introduction, it largely set the standard for pump action shotguns over its 51 year high-rate production life...

 slide action shotgun, the Model 21

Winchester Model 21

The Winchester Model 21 is a Double-barreled shotgun that was produced from 1931 to 1960, and on a custom-order basis until 1993, with production continuing under license to Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company....

 double-barreled shotgun, the Model 51 "Imperial" bolt-action sporting rifle, the Model 52

Winchester Model 52

The Winchester Model 52 was a bolt-action .22-caliber target rifle introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1920. For many years it was the premier smallbore match rifle in the United States, if not the world...

 bolt-action smallbore match rifle, and the Model 54

Winchester Model 54

The Winchester Model 54 is a bolt action rifle manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The 54 was the first successful production run centerfire bolt action for Winchester....

 bolt-action hunting rifle (which evolved into the renowned Model 70

Winchester Model 70

The Winchester Model 70 is a bolt action sporting rifle. It has an iconic place in American sporting culture and has been held in high regard by shooters since it was introduced in 1936, earning the moniker "The Rifleman's Rifle". The action has some design similarities to Mauser designs and it is...

). From beginning employment with Winchester in November 1885 to his death in 1934, Johnson was named on 124 patents assigned to the company.

Sources

1. Madis, George, The Winchester Book. Houston: Art and Reference House 1971
2. Williamson, Harold, Winchester, The Gun That Won the West. Washington: Combat Forces Press 1952