1886 - founded by Carl Walther as a gunsmith in Zella-Mehlis, Thuringia; 1903 - manufacturing hunting and sporting rifles under the Walther brand.; 1908 Walther's son Fritz designed an automatic pistol; 1947 - factory built at Gerstetten in Württemberg; 1948 - factory at Nieder-Stotzingen; 1950 - factory for sporting arms opened at Ulm; 1974 - parts of the business survived as Walther Electronic and Walther Data; The Walther brand continued until 1990s; Carl Walther parent company remained a family-owned business until 1993;