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.
Thames steamers
The first steam tug on the Thames was the "Majestic" in 1816. The use of tugs to guide sailing boats bringing passengers and cargo up the London river increased the efficiency of operations enormously and the paddle wheel showed off its maximum advantage. Paddle tugs could apply full power quickly in either direction and by having separate engines for each paddle wheel could virtually turn on the spot.