sentences:  In the late 19th century the militaries of many countries, including the United States, were evaluating or in the process of adopting a state of the art semi-automatic service pistol to replace the revolvers in use at the time which were perceived to be outdated.American gun designer John M. Browning wished to join contemporaries such as Hugo Borchardt and Georg Luger in designing a marketable semi-automatic pistol.Browning partnered with the Colt's Manufacturing Company which was hoping to capitalize on the interest in service pistol modernization by procuring large and profitable government military contracts.