Robert Fulton
The first successful trial run of a steamboat had been made several years earlier in the United States by inventor John Fitch, on the Delaware River on August 22, 1787. Attendees included delegates from the Constitutional Convention, who were observing while taking a break from their summer-long sessions at Independence Hall. The steamboat was propelled by a bank of oars on either side of the boat. The following year Fitch launched a boat powered by a steam engine driving several stern-mounted oars. These oars paddled in a manner similar to the motion of a swimming duck's feet. With this boat he carried up to thirty passengers for hire on numerous round-trip voyages on the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Burlington, New Jersey.
François Bourdon
The "SS Sirius" was the first steamboat to cross the Atlantic, in 1838, closely followed by the paddleboat "SS Great Western", which began regular crossings. In 1840, a French law authorized construction of 18 similar trans-Atlantic steamers. The Schneiders won orders to build 450-horsepower steam engines to power four of them.
A new type of hammer was needed for industrial production of the large forgings needed in these engines.
François Bourdon is best known for his invention of the steam hammer, an idea that is also attributed to the Scottish engineer James Nasmyth.
In 1839, Bourdon conceived of the idea of directly attaching a mass of iron to the piston rod of a steam engine.
Bourdon called his engine a "Pilon" and made detailed drawings of his design that he showed to all engineers who visited the works at Le Creusot.
Around the same time, Nasmyth was faced with the problem of forging a diameter shaft for a paddle steamer, larger than any that had been previously made. He came up with his own steam hammer design, making a sketch dated 24 November 1839, but the immediate need disappeared when the practicality of screw propellers was demonstrated. Nasmyth also showed his design to all visitors.