Samuel Colt

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Samuel Colt
Engraving by John Chester Buttre, c. 1855
Born	(1814-07-19)July 19, 1814 Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Died	January 10, 1862(1862-01-10) (aged 47) Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Resting place	Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Inventor, industrialist, businessman, hunter
Spouse	Elizabeth Hart Jarvis (m. 1856–1862)
Relatives	John C. Colt (brother) Caldwell Hart Colt (son) Samuel P. Colt (nephew)
Awards	Telford Medal
Signature

Samuel Colt (/koʊlt/; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company and made the mass production of revolvers commercially viable.

Colt's first two business ventures were producing firearms in Paterson, New Jersey, and making underwater mines; both ended in disappointment. His business expanded rapidly after 1847, when the Texas Rangers ordered 1,000 revolvers during the American war with Mexico. During the American Civil War, his factory in Hartford supplied firearms both to the North and the South. Later, his firearms were used widely during the settling of the western frontier. When Colt died in 1862, he was one of the wealthiest men in the United States.

Colt's manufacturing methods were at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution. His use of interchangeable parts helped him become one of the first to make efficient use of the assembly line manufacturing process. Moreover, his innovative use of art, celebrity endorsements, and corporate gifts to promote his wares made him a pioneer in advertising, product placement, and mass marketing.