Charles Gulden

popular name: Oliver Winchester

date_of_death: December 10, 1880

age: 70

cause_of_death: Long term illness

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Oliver Fisher Winchester was an American businessman and politician, best known as the founder of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in New Haven, Connecticut. Interesting to note that repeating rifles were used to some extent in the American Civil War. However, the United States Army at that time did not use many repeating rifles as they were expensive and too advanced for the outdated tactics used in the war. Repeating rifles were not widely used until after the war when they became increasingly popular with civilians. Military authorities concentrated primarily on perfecting breech-loading single shot rifles for many more years. With thousands of rifles in the hands of the average pioneer, the Winchester repeating rifles gained a reputation as "The Gun that Won the West". Oliver Winchester was also active in politics, serving as a New Haven City Commissioner, Republican Presidential elector in 1864, and as Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut from 1866 to 1867.

popular name: Forrest Mars Sr.

date_of_death: July 1, 1999

age: 95

cause_of_death: Natural Causes

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Forrest Mars Sr. (1904–1999) was an influential American businessman and the son of candy magnate Frank C. Mars, founder of the Mars Company. He played a pivotal role in transforming the family business into a global confectionery empire. After earning a degree in industrial engineering from Yale University, Mars joined his father's company and was instrumental in the development of the iconic Milky Way bar. However, due to disagreements with his father, he left the company in the early 1930s and moved to Europe, where he established Mars Limited in the United Kingdom and created popular products like the Mars bar and Maltesers. Returning to the U.S. in the 1940s, he partnered with Bruce Murrie to launch M&M’s, a product that became a massive success, especially during World War II. Eventually, he took over the Mars Company after his father's death in 1934, expanding it into a diversified food conglomerate with brands such as Uncle Ben's and pet food lines like Pedigree. Known for his fierce privacy and intense work ethic, Forrest Mars Sr. left a lasting legacy with a net worth in excess of $4 billion and built one of the most successful privately held companies in the world.

popular name: Samuel Colt

date_of_death: January 10, 1862

age: 47

cause_of_death: Complications of gout

claim_to_fame: Business and Finance

best_know_for: Samuel Colt was an inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now Colt's Manufacturing Company) in Hartford, Connecticut and made the mass production of revolvers commercially viable. Colt's first two business ventures were producing firearms in Paterson, New Jersey, and making underwater mines; both ended in disappointment. His business affairs improved rapidly after 1847, when the Texas Rangers ordered 1,000 revolvers during the American war with Mexico. Later, his firearms were used widely during the settling of the western frontier. Colt's success came from his sophisticated manufacturing methods such as the use of interchangeable parts which helped him become one of the first to use the assembly line efficiently. Moreover, his innovative use of art, celebrity endorsements, and corporate gifts to promote his wares made him a pioneer of advertising, product placement, and mass marketing. Colt died in 1862 as one of the wealthiest men in America worth in excess of $440 million in today's money.