Born Nov 14 1765 - Died Feb 24 1815 Patented February 11 1809
Robert Fulton designed and operated the world’s first
commercially successful steamboat. Fulton’s Clermont made its
historic first run in August 1807 on the Hudson River. One of
many would-be steamboat inventors of his day, Fulton spent
months assessing existing ideas and finding the ideal
combination that would set his steamboat apart. His first
prototype broke in half and sank in 1803. Numerous design
changes and additional months’ work brought success in 1807. The
Clermont carried sixty passengers who each paid five cents per
mile. It had a long and narrow hull, two paddle wheels twelve
feet in diameter, a twenty-four-horse power steam engine
designed and built by James Watt, and a twenty-foot copper
boiler. Targeting customers willing to pay a premium for speed,
Fulton’s steamboat earned a handsome profit in its first year
and won public acceptance for steamboat travel. Born in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Fulton was apprenticed to a jeweler at
age