People have locked up their valuables for thousands of years. Firearm storage grew out of that history: better locks, fire-resistant linings, independent testing and, today, safes built for rifles and handguns. These are the key moments.
Early locks and strongboxes
13th century BC
The oldest known safe, a wooden box with a lock that worked much like a modern pin tumbler, was found in the tomb of Pharaoh Ramesses II.
1500s
Blacksmiths in southern Germany, Austria and France forge cash boxes from sheet iron.
1818
The Chubb brothers begin making locks in England.
Fire and burglar protection
1825
Jesse Delano introduces a fire-resistant lining made from clay, lime, plumbago and mica.
1835
Charles and Jeremiah Chubb of Wolverhampton, England patent a burglar-resisting safe.
1840s
Safes are marketed as fireproof, able to survive a burning building.
1886
Henry Brown patents a fire-resistant forged-metal box for storing papers.
Testing and American safe makers
1894
William Henry Merrill begins the testing work in Chicago that becomes Underwriters Laboratories (UL), still the best-known name in safe ratings.
1930
SentrySafe is founded in Rochester, New York.
1946
Glenn Hall founds American Security (AMSEC) in California.
1965
Cannon Safe begins as Astro-Fab.
1972
Stack-On is founded in Illinois.
1982
Tom James founds Fort Knox in Orem, Utah.
1988
Jay Crosby founds Liberty Safe in Utah.
1990
Granite Security Products, maker of Winchester Safes, is founded in Texas.
The modern gun safe
2006
The Child Safety Lock Act of 2005 takes effect on April 24, 2006: licensed dealers must provide a secure gun storage or safety device with every handgun sold to a non-licensee.
2009
Revolving gun safes appear at SHOT Show, filmed by the Gun Websites channel.
2014
SentrySafe becomes part of Master Lock.
2016
UL expands its residential security container standard (UL 1037) with a wider range of security options.
2017
Cannon Security Products acquires Stack-On.
See today’s makers on the Gun Safe Manufacturers page, and the gear history behind it all at Gun Calendars.com.