Colt, Samuel

Samuel (1814-1862), an American inventor. He was educated in his father's cotton mill at Hartford, but went to sea at an early day and became interested in firearms. Starting with an idea of the sixteenth century, he perfected a pattern for the first really practical pistol having a revolving barrel with a number of bores. Colonel Colt patented his revolver in 1835 and commenced its manufacture at Hartford. He built up one of the largest firearm factories in the world. In the earlier patterns the entire barrel revolved. Later he devised a plan of a breech having a short revolving cylinder, usually of six chambers, with but a single barrel. At first the cylinder was turned by hand. Later it was connected by a revolving mechanism with the hammer, so that in cocking the pistol a new chamber came into line with the barrel. See Pistol; Revolver