SAMUEL COLT
Revolver
COLT .45 TV Theme Song
Life as a kid
What would life be like without the revolver? Many may say, so what, and I say it changed American history forever. Samuel Colt was born on July 19, 1814 in a small city in Hartford, Connecticut. He was one of eight children, known for his curiosity and shenanigans.
Picture of .45-cailbre Peacemaker model
Growing up
As a kid he went to his fathers mill in Ware, Massachusetts, where he became interested in mechanical things. At the age of 16 Colt went to Amherst Academy where he studied navigation. He was later banned because of a fourth of July prank involving explosives.
After leaving Amherst his father sent him to learn how to become a seaman. On his voyage to Calcutta, aboard the Corvo, after watching the ships wheel the idea of the revolver was born. He made a replica out of wood , with the idea being that that the cylinder would rotate and could shoot six bullets without reloading. Before he got the idea for the revolver he worked with submarine technology .
The impact
Colt improved the Revolving Flintlock which reduced the time it took to fire a second shot from about twenty seconds to being able to fire multiple times without reloading. It was very useful to armies and it helped in their battles with the Indians. In 1835 he received a patent in Europe and the US. He founded Colt's Manufacturing company in Paterson, New Jersey. The original Colt .45 cost about $13.00.
In 1846 Colt and army Captain Samuel H. Walker designed a new and improved gun. Walker got the government to order a thousand of these revolvers for the Mexican American War and Samuel was back in business. Colt's gun was so popular that it was commonly said that the revolver was how the west was won.
Other Inventions
Samuel Colt also invented under water mines for the Navy. He helped Samuel Morse with the underwater cables and they teamed up to ask for funds from the government. Morse used Colt's cable's under lakes, rivers and bays. He also attempted to put one under the Atlantic Ocean.
Death
He died in Hartford,Connecticut on January 10,1862 in Cedar Hill Cemetery. When he died his net worth was about $15 million, which in present day would be $350 million.
Chronicle of the Old West - Samuel Colt