The Great Gunmaker

The Great Gunmaker

by Benjamin Michael Loring

(age 8)

Samuel Colt was born on July 19, 1814, in Hartford, CT.  He had seven siblings.  He always liked to take apart mechanical things to see how they worked.  In 1830 he worked on a ship, and the ship's wheel gave him the idea of a revolving gun barrel.  In 1836 Colt got a US patent for his revolver.  That means no one can design that revolver because it was his invention.  The revolver didn't sell well at first, because a lot of people liked muskets.  However, in 1845, the army heard that fighting Indians with the revolver was easier because they didn't need to reload it as often as a musket.  In 1846, Samuel Colt invented "The Walker" with Samuel Walker, which was used in the Mexican War.  By 1855 Colt had offices in New York and London making 150 firearms a day.  He died on January 10, 1862.  His estate was worth about $15,000,000!  Colt Manufacturing Company is still in business today.

 (typed from dictation by Carrie Loring)

"Samuel Colt." Bio.com. Ed. Biography.com Editors. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.  http://www.biography.com/people/samuel-colt-9254072#other-inventions

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