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| 1814 | Samuel Colt was born on July 19 to Christopher and Sarah Caldwell Colt. |
| 1836 | Sam Colt issued U.S. Patent #138 on February 25; Patent Arms Manufacturing Company established, Paterson, New Jersey. |
| 1842 | Patent Arms Manufacturing Company closed. |
| 1847 | Colt resumed manufacture of firearms and the .44 caliber, 6-shot Walker is introduced. Colt started his own factory on Pearl Street. |
| 1851 | Colt exhibition at London's Crystal Palace Exposition |
| 1853 | Colt's London factory established. |
| 1855 | New Hartford factory completed. |
| 1856 | Col. Colt married Elizabeth Hart Jarvis on June 5. |
| 1858 | Colt's only surviving heir, Caldwell Hart Colt, Born November 24. |
| 1862 | Samuel Colt died January 10; Elisha Root elected President to succeed Colt. |
| 1864 | Major part of the Armory destroyed by fire February 4. |
| 1865 | R.W.H. Jarvis (Colt's brother-in-law) elected President after Root's death. |
| 1866 | Publication by Mrs. Colt of "Armsmear." |
| 1873 | Introduction of the Single-Action revolver. |
| 1876 | Colt firearms displayed at the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. |
| 1889 | Colt entered the modern era with it's first double-action with a swing-out cylinder, the Model 1889. |
| 1894 | Caldwell Hart Colt died on Jauary 21. |
| 1897 | John M. Browning issued Patent #580924 - the basis for most of Colt's automatic pistols. |
| 1901 | Mrs. Colt sold the Armory. |
| 1905 | Elizabeth Colt died on August 21. |
| 1936 | The Great Flood - Robert Courtney and other employees saved the shipping ledgers, dating back to the 1860's, by moving them to an upper floor. |
| 1947 | Name changed to Colt's Manufacturing Company; 1861 Colt building torn down. |
| 1955 | Penn-Texas Corporation takes over and the name is changed to Colt's Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company. |
| 1961 | Commemorative firearms series introduced. |
| 1964 | Corporation name changed to Colt Industries. The Rampant Colt logo is dropped and a circular device representing a machine tool gear was adopted for the corporation. |
| 1976 | Custom Gun Shop established. |
| 1981 | East Armory vacated and offices moved to West Hartford. |
| 1986 | Colt's 150th Anniversary; Colt Historian M.S. "Marty" Huber celebrated his 50th Anniversary with Colt Firearms.
Union employees' strike lasts almost three years. |
| 1988 | Loss of government contract for the M-16 rifle. |
| 1989 | The Firearms Division of Colt Industries sold to new investors - C.F.Holdings Corporation; name changed to Colt's Manufacturing Company, Inc. |
| 1990 | Company sold to a coalition of private investors, the state of Connecticut and the union employees. Company renamed Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC. The 4 year UAW strike ends. New product line introduced; Double Eagle double action pistol, Anaconda .44 Magnum double action and a redesigned Sporter rifle. |
| 1992 | Colt enters Chapter 11. Litigation commences between Colt's Manufacturing Company, Inc. and C. F. Intellectual Properties. |
| 1993 | Colt .22 Automatic introduced; along with the M-4 rifle. |
| 1994 | In May, the Hartford Armory closes and the entire company relocates to their West Hartford facility. Colt is awarded sole contract to supply nearly 19,000 of the new M-4 carbines to the U. S. Army and to joint Special Forces personnel. In September, a new group of investors purchases the company and Colt emerges from bankruptcy. |
| 1995 | Colt unveils "The Last Gun," which is a Single Action Army produced in the Hartford Armory. The commercial product line adds the new .22 Target pistol, the Colt Match Target rifle and the Colt .38 SF-VI revolver. The Colt Target .22 pistol is named "Handgun of the Year" by the Shooting Industry Academy. The military side of the company wins another contract to produce in excess of 16,000 M-4 rifles. Colt begins work with the National Institute of Justice on the development of "Smart Gun" technology. |
| 1996 | Colt teams with the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association and introduces a single action revolver named "The Legend" to the market. |
| 1997 | Colt wins a new government contract for 6,000 M-4 carbines. New introductions to the commercial product line are: the Pony double action pistol, 3" Defender Carry pistol, and the DS II revolver. The Colt Custom Gun Shop introduces the Python Elite revolver and the Gold Cup Trophy pistol. |
| 1998 | Colt wins a new government contract in excess of 32,000 M-16 rifles. Complimenting this is a contract to update 88,000 M-16A1 rifles to the A2 configuration for the U. S. Air Force. Colt acquires Saco Defense, a Maine-based company specializing in automatic weapons for the military. |
| 1999 | Colt begins the year with a backlog of military/carbine orders amounting to approximately 59,000 units. This includes orders for exclusive production of the M-4 carbine extending through the year 2010. Commercial acquires Ultra Light Arms, Inc. that puts Colt back in the sporting rifle business. The Colt Custom Gun Shop completes a pair of highly engraved and gold inlaid Dragoon revolvers. |
| 2000 | Introduction of the XS series, which was the Government model stainless steel, The Commander stainless steel, and the lightweight Commander stainless steel. |
| 2002 | Introduced the Series 70 Government model and the WWII replica. |
| 2003 | Introduced the Colt Gunsite Pistol, the WWI replica and the Colt .38 Super. |
| 2005 | The Python and Anaconda lines dropped. |
| 2008 | Introduced the New Agent .45 pistol; the Frontier Six Shooter single action, the Sheriff's model and the Delta Elite returns. |
| 2009 | Colt Historian Kathleen J. Hoyt retires after 44 years of service and is given the title Colt Historian Emeritus. |
| 2010 |
January 1, Beverly Haynes promoted to Colt Historian. |
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