Remington, Eliphalet

born Oct. 28, 1793, Suffield, Conn., U.S.

died Aug. 12, 1861, Ilion, N.Y.

U.S. firearms manufacturer and inventor.

The son of a blacksmith, he grew up on his father's farm near Utica, N.Y., where he made his first flintlock rifle (1816). In 1828 he built a large arms factory at present-day Ilion, N.Y. He and his son Philo improved arms manufacture with the reflection method of straightening gun barrels and the first successful cast-steel, drilled rifle barrel made in the U.S. In 1847 he supplied the U.S. Navy with its first breech-loading rifle. His Remington Arms Co. made small arms for the U.S. government during the American Civil War and World Wars I and II.

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▪ American manufacturer and inventor

born Oct. 28, 1793, Suffield, Conn., U.S.

died Aug. 12, 1861, Ilion, N.Y.

      U.S. firearms manufacturer and inventor.

      In 1800 his family settled near Utica, N.Y., where his father built a smithy and forge powered by a waterwheel. In 1816 Remington constructed a flintlock rifle at the forge; its accuracy led neighbours to order similar guns. Soon, manufacture of sporting guns and rifle barrels became the main business of the forge.

      In 1828 Remington built a large factory beside the Erie Canal at the present site of Ilion. He and his son Philo pioneered many improvements in arms manufacture, including the reflection method of straightening gun barrels, a lathe for cutting gunstocks, and the first successful cast-steel, drilled rifle barrel manufactured in the United States.

      In 1847 Remington supplied the U.S. Navy with its first breech-loading rifle (Jenks carbine). The company he founded, the Remington Arms Company, supplied a large proportion of the small arms used by the U.S. government in the Civil War (1861–65) and in World Wars I and II.

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