Caldwell Hart Colt (November 24, 1858 – January 21, 1894) was an American

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

and

yachtsman A yacht () is a sail- or motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a ...

Biography

Caldwell Hart Colt was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of

Samuel Colt Samuel Colt (; 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. Col ...

, founder of Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now known as

Colt's Manufacturing Company Colt's Manufacturing Company, LLC (CMC, formerly Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company) is an American firearms manufacturer, founded in 1855 by Samuel Colt that has become a subsidiary of Czech holding company Colt CZ Group. It is th ...

) and Elizabeth Jarvis Colt. Caldwell Colt attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and was known later in life for being a yachtsman. He served as vice-commodore of the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

in 1888 and commodore of the

Larchmont Larchmont is a village located within the Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York. Larchmont is a suburb of New York City, located approximately northeast of Midtown Manhattan. The population of the village is 6,453 as of the W ...

Yacht Club from 1892–1893. He was the owner of the

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

''Dauntless'' and sloop ''Wizard''. The New York pilot-boat ''Caldwell H. Colt'' was named in honor of Colt. Following in his father's footsteps as a gunmaker, in 1879 he designed the Colt double barrel rifle. This rifle was chambered in .45-70 Government and is one of the rarest Colt firearms that was ever made.

Death

Colt died of heart failure in Punta Gorda, Florida on January 21, 1894. His mother had a parish house built near

Armsmear Armsmear ("meadow of arms"), also known as the Samuel Colt Home, is a historic house located at 80 Wethersfield Avenue in Hartford, Connecticut. It was the family home of firearm manufacturer Samuel Colt. Armsmear was listed as a National Histo ...

in his name opposite the Church of the Good Shepherd. The building was designed by Edward Tuckerman Potter who designed the earlier church on the site. The Church of the Good Shepherd and Parish House is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. She also renamed St. James Episcopal Church to Church of the Good Shepherd and bought a Tiffany stained glass window that is still there today in memory of her son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colt, Caldwell Hart 1858 births 1894 deaths 19th-century American inventors Colt's Manufacturing Company Firearm designers People of Connecticut in the American Civil War Sportspeople from Hartford, Connecticut Deaths by drowning in Florida American male sailors (sport) Yale University alumni Colt family