Samuel Colt (July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor and industrialist from Hartford, Connecticut. He was the founder of Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now known as Colt's Manufacturing Company), and made the mass-production of the revolver commercially viable for the first time.
Elisha Haydon Collier (1788–1856) of Boston invented a flintlock revolver around 1814. His weapon is one of the earliest true revolvers, in contrast to the earlier pepperboxes which were cumbersome and inaccurate multi-barreled guns prone to misfires, or even exploding. In addition to being single-action, Collier's revolver was self-priming: a compartment automatically released gunpowder into the pan when the hammer was cocked.
A revolver or six-shooter (as most revolvers have a maximum capacity of six rounds) is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first true revolver—a flintlock—was made by Elisha Collier in 1814. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson. The first cartridge revolvers were produced around 1856 by Smith & Wesson. Though the original name was "revolving gun", the short-form "revolver" is universally used.
