How it All Started

More than 160 years ago, an obscure young seaman, Calcutta bound, carved from a block of wood a model of what was destined to become the world's most famous revolver. His name was Samuel Colt, and from the spark of his inventive genius came the modern firearms of today.

One would search in vain through the pages of history to find a more romantic and glamorous figure than Samuel Colt. His was the mind of a genius, a planner and a dreamer, all in one. His vision was not local, but worldwide. His ambition exceeded mere prosperity and power. Complete satisfaction could only be his when he had reached the pinnacle of his chosen field.

 

Samuel Colt invented the first revolver, a gun named after its inventor "Colt", and after its revolving cylinder "revolver". In 1836, Samuel Colt was granted a U.S. patent for the Colt revolver, which was equipped with a revolving cylinder containing five or six bullets and an innovative cocking device.

Before the Colt revolver only one and two-barrel flintlock pistols had been invented for hand held use. Colt revolvers were all based on cap-and-ball technology until the Smith and Wesson license on the bored-through cylinder (bought from Rollin White) expired around 1869