45's & 44's
First came the 45 Colt
Second, the 45 Smith & Wesson, nicknamed the 45 Schofield
Third, the 45 Government, nicknamed the 45 Short Colt
Fourth, the 1909 Colt 45
Fifth, the 45 ACP, circa 1911, the switch from revolver to self loader.
Folowing the introduction of the 45 Government, the 45 Colt was nicknamed the 45 Long Colt to distinguish it from the 45 Government or "45 Short Colt. When the 45 Government hit the civilian market the ammo companies began labeling it 45 Short Colt.
Today the ammo companies load the 45 Short Colt but label it and head stamp it as the 45 Schofield even though it does not have the proper dimensions for the Schofield. (The rim is too narrow.)
The true 45 Smith & Wesson or Schofield and the 1909 Colt 45 have wider rims to work better with a star extractor. The 45 Government or 45 Short Colt and the 45 Smith & Wesson have the same case length. The 1909 Colt 45 has a case length a tad longer than the 45 Colt.
The 454 Casull is a tad longer than the 1909 and runs much higher pressure than the others.
Which of these cartridges will work in which gun gets a bit complicated. The 45 Government or Short Colt will work in any of the guns. If you load a SAA Colt with the true 45 Schofield, you will only be able to get three in due to the wider rim. The same problem arose later with one of the early Colt DA's. A 45 Colt will work in the 1909 new Service (Sights will be a bit off.) or in a 454 Casull. using the narrow rimmed cartridges in a revolver with a star extractor raises the issue of jamming up the gun by getting a case under the extractor. You have to be careful when unloading. You can avoid trouble by pointing the barrel straight up when extracting.
In the 44, you have the 44 Russian, 44 Special, 44 Magnum and 445 SuperMag all of which differ only in case length and operating pressure. Any of the shorter can be fired in any of the longer. They all have the same rim.