100 Entrepreneurs Who Changed The World
94. Maestro Bartolomeo Beretta (1490 – 1565/68)
Maestro Bartolomeo Beretta was an Italian gunsmith who began one the world’s most renowned firearms companies in 1526 when he accepted 296 ducats for 185 arquebus barrels, ordered by the Arsenal of Venice. In doing so he was one the first, if not they first, gunsmith to make a large enterprise out of the craft. In 1918, the Beretta Model 1918 became the second submachine gun fielded by the Italian military. Beretta USA was established in 1977 in Accokeek, Maryland. They manufacture many weapons for police and military use as well as civilian firearms. Beretta is one of the oldest operating companies in existence and it all started with the craftsmanship and business sense of Maestro Bartolomeo Beretta.
