I had to fall back to wikipedia, but it dates back to the late 1800s. It was adopted in "nineteen eleven" as the M1911.

If you like that kind of thing, then you'd probably like the youtube channel Forgotten Weapons where the guy covers some very rare historical firearms with the occasional diversion such as his participation in Finnish Brutality shooting competitions. It's a little eye opening the combination of physical fitness and marksmanship that goes into that sort of thing these days. There's no telling what various militaries have under their belt.