Colt, Samuel (1814–1862), inventor and manufacturer.The flamboyant Samuel Colt was best known for his patented revolving pistols, called
six‐shooters. After an abortive attempt to manufacture an early version of his pistol, Colt turned to other pursuits—including the development of a submarine battery and a submarine telegraph—before going back to manufacture an improved version of his pistol at the outbreak of the
Mexican War (1846–48). Provided with U.S. Army contracts, as well as an expanding market for his product in Europe and the American West, Colt's business thrived to such an extent that in 1854–55 he constructed a large state‐of‐the‐art armory at Hartford, Connecticut. Equipped with the latest tools and machinery, “Coltsville” became a showplace of American industry and the training ground of numerous inventor‐entrepreneurs. During the
Civil War, the Colt armory approached mass‐production levels, producing over 400,000 pistols and 85,000 rifles, second only in quantity to the output of the U.S. government–owned Springfield Armory.
By the 1870s, Colt firearms (including the
Gatling gun) could be found in virtually every part of the world. Moreover, former Colt workers proved instrumental in transferring the machine‐based technology initially developed in the small‐arms industry to technically related industries making such consumer durables as sewing machines, typewriters, business machines, bicycles, and, eventually, motorcycles and automobiles. Though many gifted individuals contributed to what, by the 1850s, became known as the “American system of manufactures,” Samuel Colt was the system's most vocal spokesman. Few other manufacturers achieved greater prominence or exerted greater influence on the developing American economy during the age of the first Industrial Revolution (c. 1815–76).
Bibliography
William B. Edwards , The Story of Colt's Revolver, 1953.
R. L. Wilson , Colt, An American Legend, 1985.
William Hosley , Colt: The Making of an American Legend, 1996.
Merritt Roe Smith
