Daniel B. Wesson II

{{Infobox person

| name = Daniel B. Wesson II

| image = Daniel_Baird_Wesson_II.jpg

| image_size =

| caption =

| birth_name = Daniel Baird Wesson II

| birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1916|04|28}}

| birth_place = Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|1978|11|24|1916|04|22}}

| death_place = Monson, Massachusetts, U.S.

| occupation = Firearms maker and inventor

| known_for = founder of Dan Wesson Firearms

| spouse = Rosamond Lefevre

| children = 3

| relatives = Daniel B. Wesson (great-grandfather)

| alma_mater = Amherst College

| signature = Daniel_B._Wesson_II_signature.png

}}

Daniel Baird Wesson II (April 22, 1916 – November 24, 1978) was an American inventor and firearms maker, who in 1968 founded the company now known as Dan Wesson Firearms. He was the great-grandson of inventor and firearms maker Daniel Baird Wesson, a co-founder of Smith & Wesson.

Biography

Wesson was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in April 1916. He was educated at Deerfield Academy and Amherst College.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35946608/daniel_b_wesson/ |title=Daniel B. Wesson |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=111 |date=November 26, 1978 |accessdate=September 14, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} He worked at Smith & Wesson,{{cite book|last=Boorman|first=Dean K.|title=The History of Smith & Wesson Firearms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5jnqqkW85u8C&pg=PA27|date= 2002|publisher=Globe Pequot Press|isbn=978-1-58574-721-4|page=27}} the family company, for 30 years. After the family company was acquired by conglomerate Bangor Punta, he left and launched Dan Wesson Arms Inc. in 1968.{{cite book|last=Sweeney|first=Patrick|authorlink=Patrick Sweeney (gunsmith)|title=The Gun Digest Book of the 1911|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WmsKlKrJYA4C&pg=PA248|year=2006|publisher=F+W Media|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-1-4402-2431-7|page=248}}

The first Dan Wesson Arms production revolvers, the Model 11 & 12 (later revolvers were marked as D11 & W12) were shipped in August 1970. Wesson's firearms were known for a high quality of craftsmanship, and the company introduced a rare design among revolvers; the ability to change barrels and grips with simple hand tools, which made these guns popular with shooters.

Wesson died in November 1978, having suffered a heart attack while chopping wood at his home in Monson, Massachusetts.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/35946194/daniel_b_wesson/ |title=Daniel B. Wesson |agency=AP |newspaper=The San Francisco Examiner |page=33 |date=November 26, 1978 |accessdate=September 14, 2019 |via=newspapers.com}} His company subsequently went through several ownership changes, was run by his son Seth from 1991 to 1995, and in 2005 was acquired by CZ-USA.

Daniel B. Wesson II

Biography

References

Further reading