Augustus George Hazard known as Colonel Augustus Hazard, was an American manufacturer of gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

 and the namesake of Hazardville, Connecticut

Hazardville, Connecticut

Hazardville is a section of the town of Enfield, Connecticut, in Hartford County. It is a census-designated place that had a total population of 4,900 as of the 2000 census.-History:...

.

Hazard was born in Kingston, Rhode Island

Kingston, Rhode Island

Kingston is a village and a census-designated place in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States, and the site of the main campus of the University of Rhode Island. Much of the village center is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Kingston Village Historic...

 on April 28, 1802, a son of Thomas and Silence Knowles Hazard. His family moved to Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 when he was a child. As a young man, he worked as a merchant in Savannah, Georgia

Savannah, Georgia

Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...

. In 1827 he relocated to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, where he was a commission agent engaged in the sale of gunpowder and other products. In 1837 he bought into a gunpowder production company that had been established two years earlier on the Scantic River

Scantic River

The Scantic River is a river that flows through the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut and is tributary to the Connecticut River.The Scantic River's tributaries rise in the towns of Hampden, Wilbraham, East Longmeadow and Monson in Massachusetts, and in Stafford and Somers, Connecticut,...

 in the town

New England town

The New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. Without a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in other states, but are incorporated, possessing powers like cities in other...

 of Enfield, Connecticut

Enfield, Connecticut

Enfield is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 45,212 at the 2000 census. It sits on the border with Longmeadow, Massachusetts and East Longmeadow, Massachusetts to the north, Somers to the east, East Windsor and Ellington to the south, and the...

. He assumed sole ownership of the company in 1843. The business was known thereafter as the Hazard Powder Company and the village that supported it became known as Hazardville.

Hazard lived on Enfield Street in Enfield, several miles from the powder mill, and ran the business until his death on May 7, 1868, at the Ascot House in New York City.