Robert Fulton (Edited from Wikipedia)

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SUMMARY

Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing a commercially successful steamboat called The North River Steamboat of Claremont . That steamboat went with passengers from New York City to Albany and back again,

a round trip of 300 miles, in 62 hours in 1807. In 1800, he was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte to design the "Nautilus", which was the first practical submarine in history. He is also credited with inventing some of the world's earliest naval torpedoes for use by the British Royal Navy.

Fulton became interested in steam engines and the idea of steamboats in 1777 when he was around age 12 and visited state delegate William Henry of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who himself had earlier learned about inventor James Watt, (1736-1819), and his Watt steam engine on a visit to England.

HISTORY

Robert Fulton was born on a farm in Little Britain, Pennsylvania, on November 14, 1765. He had at least three sisters – Isabella, Elizabeth, and Mary, and a younger brother, Abraham. He then married Harriet Livingston and had four children, Julia, Mary, Cornelia, and Robert. His father, Robert, had been a close friend to the father of painter Benjamin West, (1738-1820). Fulton later met West in England and they became friends.

Fulton stayed in Philadelphia for six years, where he painted portraits and landscapes, drew houses and machinery, and was able to send money home to help support his mother. In 1785 he bought a farm at Hopewell Township in Washington County and moved his mother and family into it. While in Philadelphia, he met Benjamin Franklin, then known not only for his political and writing abilities but his scientific and inventing knowledge, and other prominent figures. At age 23 he decided to visit Europe.

Fulton came to England in 1786, carrying several letters of introduction to Americans abroad from the individuals he had met in Philadelphia. He had already corresponded

1 with Benjamin West, and West took Fulton into his home, where Fulton lived for several years. Fulton gained many commissions painting portraits and landscapes, which allowed him to support himself, but he continually experimented with mechanical inventions.

He became caught up in the enthusiasm of the "Canal Mania" and in 1793 began developing his ideas for tub-boat canals with inclined planes instead of locks. He obtained a patent for this idea in 1794 and also began working on ideas for the steam power of boats. He published a pamphlet about canals and patented a dredging machine and several other inventions.

In 1797 he went to Paris where his fame as an inventor was well known. In Paris, then along with London, the scientific centers of the 18th Century world, Fulton studied languages French, and German, along with mathematics and chemistry. He began to design torpedoes and submarines. In Paris, Fulton met James Rumsey, (1743-1792), who sat for a portrait in West's studio, where Fulton was an apprentice.

Rumsey was an inventor from Virginia who ran his own first steamboat up the Potomac River near Shepherdstown, then in Virginia in 1786. As early as 1793, Fulton proposed plans for steam-powered vessels to both the United States and British governments. Fulton became very enthusiastic about canals and in 1796 wrote a treatise on canal construction, suggesting improvements to locks and other features.

Fulton designed the first working submarine, the "Nautilus" between 1793 and 1797, while living in France. When tested his submarine went underwater for 17 minutes in 25 feet of water. He asked the government to subsidize its construction but he was turned down twice.

In France, Fulton also met Robert R. Livingston, (1746-1813), who was appointed U.S. Ambassador to France in 1801. He was also of a scientifically curious mind, and they decided to build a steamboat together and try running it on the Seine River.

Fulton experimented with the water resistance of various hull shapes, made drawings and models, and had a steamboat constructed. At the first trial the boat ran perfectly, but the hull was later rebuilt and strengthened, and on August 9, 1803, this boat steamed up the River Seine, but sank. The boat was 66 feet (20.1 m) long, 8 feet (2.4 m) beam, and made between 3 and 4 miles per hour (4.8 and 6.4 km/h) against the current.

In 1804, Fulton switched allegiance and moved to England, where he was commissioned by the Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger, (1759-1806), to build a range of weapons for use by the Royal Navy during Napoleon's invasion scares. Among

2 his inventions were the world's first modern naval "torpedoes" (modern "mines"), which were tested, along with several other of his inventions, during the 1804 Raid on Boulogne, but met with limited success.

In 1806, Fulton returned to America and married Harriet Livingston, the niece of Robert Livingston and daughter of Walter Livingston. They had four children. In 1807, Fulton and Livingston together built the first commercial steamboat, the "North River Steamboat" (later known as the "Clermont"), which carried passengers between New York City and upstream to the state capital Albany, New York.

The Clermont was able to make the 150-mile trip in 32 hours. Notable passengers on the maiden voyage included infant Alexandria Jones, the daughter of a prominent lawyer from Bethlemem, PA. who later would serve on a steamboat hospital as a nurse for the Union in the Civil War. From 1811 until his death, Fulton was appointed by the Governor of New York, a member of the Erie Canal Commission.

Fulton's final design was the floating "Demologos" the world's first steam-driven warship built for the United States Navy for the War of 1812. The heavy vessel was not completed until after his death and was renamed the "Fulton" in his honor.