100 Entrepreneurs Who Changed The World
93. Samuel Colt (1814-1862)
“God made men. Samuel Colt made men equal.”—Popular Saying
Sam Colt was an American inventor, industrialist and firearms enthusiast from Hartford, Connecticut. He was the founder of Colt’s Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company. Colt made mass production of the revolver viable, and in 1847 Texas Rangers purchased 1,000 Colt revolvers during the Mexican-American War. During the American Civil War Colt produced revolvers for the Union Army. Using modern industrial methods, an assembly line and interchangeable parts, allowed Colt to reshape the firearms industry and history. Colt opened armories in London and Hartford. He persuaded the governor of Connecticut to make him a lieutenant colonel and aide-de-camp in the state militia, so he could gain audience with foreign heads of state. He frequently with give heads of states custom engraved revolvers. They became an iconic revolver world-wide and a symbol of American industrial prowess. Today Colt still produces some of the finest American made firearms.
