Rollin White

American inventor (1817-1892) Rollin WhiteBornRollin White(1817-06-06)June 6, 1817Williamstown, Vermont, U.S.DiedMarch 22, 1892(1892-03-22) (aged 74)Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.OccupationsInventor, gunsmith Rollin White patent, Apr. 3, 1855 Rollin White (June 6, 1817 – March 22, 1892) was an American gunsmith who invented a single shot bored-through revolver cylinder that allowed paper cartridges to be loaded from the rear of a revolver's cylinder. Because the open breeches were unprotected from lateral fire, all charges would instantly explode in a chain fire. Only one gun would be built to White's specifications, and that for use in a trial to show the impracticality of the gun. The gun could not fire metallic cartridges. Early life White was born in Williamstown, Vermont, in 1817. He learned gunsmithing from his older brother J. D. White in 1837 and would later claim that the idea for a "rear-loading" Pepper-box revolver came to him while working in his brother's shop in 1839. In 1849 he went to work for his brothers who had a contract at Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company for turning and finishing revolver barrels. During this time he appropriated two "junk" or scrap