Daniel B. Wesson
| Daniel Baird Wesson | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
May 18, 1825 Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Died | August 4, 1906 (aged 81) |
| Occupation | Inventor, industrialist |
| Spouse(s) | Cynthia Maria Hawes |
| Partner(s) | Horace Smith |
| Children | Sarah Janette Wesson Bull, Walter Wesson, Frank Wesson, and Joseph Wesson |
| Relatives | Daniel Baird Wesson II, Edwin Wesson, Frank Wesson |
Daniel Baird Wesson (May 18, 1825 – August 4, 1906) was a firearms designer from the United States. He was the co-founder of Smith & Wesson and responsible for helping develop several influential firearm designs over the course of his life.
Daniel Baird Wesson was the son of Rufus and Betsey (Baird) Wesson. Daniel's father was a farmer and manufacturer of wooden plows and Daniel worked on his father's farm and attended public school until the age of eighteen, when he apprenticed himself to his brother Edwin Wesson (a leading manufacturer of target rifles and pistols in the 1840s) in Northborough, Massachusetts.
Wesson was married to Cynthia Maria Hawes, May 26, 1847 in Thompson, Connecticut. Hawes' father objected to the couple's engagement fearing that Wesson was a "mere gunsmith" with no future, forcing the couple to elope. Ironically, Wesson's salary at Smith & Wesson would amount to over $160,000 a year by 1865.
The couple had one daughter and three sons: Sarah Janette Wesson (b. 1848); Walter Wesson (Smith & Wesson executive, b.1850); Frank Wesson (b. 1853); and Joseph Wesson (Smith & Wesson executive, b. 1859).
In 1854, Daniel B. Wesson partnered with Horace Smith and Courtlandt Palmer to develop the Smith & Wesson Lever pistol and the first repeating rifle – the Volcanic. Production was in the shop of Horace Smith in Norwich, CT. Originally using the name "Smith & Wesson Company", the name was changed to "Volcanic Repeating Arms Company" in 1855, with the addition of new investors, one of whom was Oliver Winchester. The Volcanic Repeating Arms Company obtained all rights for the Volcanic designs (both rifle and pistol versions were in production by this time) as well as the ammunition, from the Smith & Wesson Company. Wesson remained as plant manager for eight months before rejoining Smith to found the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" upon obtaining the licensing of the Rollin White "rear loading cylinder" patent.
In 1856 Smith & Wesson began to produce a small revolver designed to fire the Rimfire cartridge they had patented in August 1854. This revolver was the first successful fully self-contained cartridge revolver available in the world. Smith & Wesson secured patents for the revolver to prevent other manufacturers from producing a cartridge revolver – giving the young company a very lucrative business.
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