 Olin was an inventor or co-inventor of 24 United States patents in the field of arms and ammunition manufacture and design and was responsible for numerous developments in ballistics.John Merrill Olin died in 1982 at age 89 at his home in East Hampton, New York.John and Evelyn Olin bred and raced a number of thoroughbred racehorses, notably winning the 1963 Epsom Oaks with the filly Noblesse, and the 1974 Kentucky Derby with the colt Cannonade.