November 30/article

The man whose name would become synonymous with the lever action rifle was born in Boston on this day in 1810 to Samuel Winchester and Hannah Bates. Oliver Winchester started as a clothing manufacturer in New York City and New Haven, Connecticut. During this period he discovered that a division of Smith & Wesson firearms was failing financially with one of their newly patented arms. Having an eye for opportunity, Winchester assembled venture capital together with other stockholders and acquired the S&W division, better known as the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, in 1850. By 1856, Winchester had positioned himself as the principal stockholder in the company and relocated to New Haven, changing the name to New Haven Arms Company. Initially, the company was plagued by sluggish returns, which were in part attributed to the design and poor performance of the Volcanic cartridge, but fortunately for Winchester, he inherited a brilliant engineer named Benjamin Tyler Henry, who would prove an invaluable asset. (Read more...)