The National Rifle Association becomes a focus of coverage whenever gun-related massacres take place in the United States. But how well do you know the NRA's history and background?

1. Its first president might be better known for sideburns. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside, formerly a gunsmith, bemoaned the Union's shooting inaccuracy and tactics in the Civil War. He became the NRA's first leader when it was founded in 1871 in New York with the goal to "promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis.'' The word sideburns is a play on Burnside's last name, used to describe the hair on the side of his face that curled around to join his mustache. Library of Congress/AP