In the early 20th century the U.S. Army found its trust .38 revolver incapable of stopping some attackers in the conflict against Moros in the Philippines. An Ordinance Board headed by Colonel John T. Thompson (of "Tommy Gun" notoriety) and Colonel Louis A. La Garde decided that the army needed a .45 caliber cartridge to provide adequate stopping power.

John Moses Browning, who was working for Colt, had already designed an autoloader pistol that become known as a .38 Super. When Browning heard of the Army's interest in a bigger gun, he re-engineered the .38 autoloader to accommodate a .45 cartridge. of his own design and submitted it to the Army. Firearms were submitted by Colt, Luger, Smith & Wesson, Savage, Bergmann, Knoble and White-Merrill, but in 1907 Browning's Colt model was selected along with the Savage design. But, upon testing both selected pistols, neither met the Army's desired perfection, so they appointed a selection committe in 1911. Browning remained determined to see his pistol perfected, so he went to the Hartford Colt factory and oversaw production.

When Browning submitted the pistol again, it was put through a "torture" test on March 3, 1911. Each gun would fire 6000 rounds in the test. After each 100 rounds, the pistol would be allowed to cool for 5 minutes. After each 1000 rounds the pistols would be cleaned and oiled. After all 6000 rounds, the gun would be tested with deformed cartridges before being rusted in acid and submerged in sand and mud.

Browning's handgun passed all of the tests with flying colors, and on March 29, 1911, the Colt-produced .45 automatic pistol was selected as the official sidearm of the Armed Forces of the United States of America and named "Model 1911."