[1] Richards was a founder of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and a professor at Yale University where he taught for 25 years.
[4][5] After the onset of the American Civil War he returned to Colt in 1861, eventually becoming Superintendent of Engineering at the factory in Hartford, Connecticut.
Colt's only solution would be to bore through the rear of their cylinders and devise a new method of ignition and case extraction.
[7] Richards and Mason were later responsible for the design of the Colt Single Action Army revolver, also known as the "Peacemaker".
[8] After retiring from Colt in 1880, Richards was one of the founders of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,[9][10] serving as its manager from 1881 to 1882 and Vice-president from 1888–1890.
[11] Richards was the United States Commissioner of the Paris Exposition of 1889 and a recipient of the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor of France.