Colt's Revolutions

For a full biography of Samuel Colt written by professional historians, I recommend [Revolver by Rasenberger, Roy, et al.] For a highly editorialized and possibly misleading biography of Samuel Colt, see below.

At age 15, Samuel Colt created an underwater explosive. He demonstrated it to great fanfare at a Fourth of July event. The following year, again on Fourth of July, he was expelled from school for pyrotechnic antics.

Shortly thereafter, Colt invented (possibly plagiarised) and prototyped his first firearms. Daddy Colt funded the first production run of those guns, but quickly cut losses.

Hungry for gun funds, "Dr. Coult" (not a doctor) peddled laughing gas at roadshows across the US. He quickly pivoted back to pyrotechnics and pistols, securing principal to prototype and patent his revolving gun.

And so he recruited John Pearson, a young gunsmith, to build more guns, mailing irregular/incorrect wages and erratic instructions. While Colt pursued a semi-successful smuggling scheme, Pearson perfected Colt's half-baked designs.

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