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Biography of Samuel ColtName: Samuel ColtBirth Date: 1814 Death Date: 1862 Place of Birth: Hartford, Connecticut, United States Nationality: American Gender: Male Occupations: manufacturer, inventor Samuel Colt The American inventor and manufacturer Samuel Colt (1814-1862) first developed and popularized the multishot pistol, or revolver, which found wide use in the last half of the 19th century, especially in the American West.Samuel Colt was born in Hartford, Conn., the son of a prosperous cotton and woolen manufacturer. In 1824 his father sent him to work in one of his dyeing and bleaching establishments; Colt attended school at the same time. His behavior in school, however, was such that his father sought to discipline him by sending him on a sea voyage as an ordinary seaman. It was a one-year trip to India and the Orient, and it was apparently on this voyage that young Colt began to work on a revolving pistol. On his return he worked for a year in his father's bleachery and then left to travel on his own. Little is known of his activities for …showed first 150 words…
…showed last 150 words…but most importantly for the example they gave of the mass production of interchangeable parts, which came to be known as the American system of manufactures. In 1855 Colt built his great armory at Hartford, Conn. (the largest private armory of its time), and he lived out his life as a prosperous and respected manufacturer. Further Reading A good introduction to Colt's life and works is William B. Edwards, The Story of Colt's Revolver: The Biography of Col. Samuel Colt (1953). There is a vast literature on guns, written for buffs and collectors, much of which contains references to Colt and his pistol.Barnard, Henry, Armsmear: the home, the arm, and the armory of Samuel Colt: a memoria, s.l.: s.n., 1976. Grant, Ellsworth S., The Colt legacy: the Colt Armory in Hartford, 1855-1980, Providence, RI: Mowbray Co., 1982. Keating, Bern, The flamboyant Mr. Colt and his deadly six-shooter, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1978. |