Robert Fulton: The First Successful Commercial Steamboat

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Robert Fulton is best known for developing the first successful commercial steamboat. Much like Henry Ford, Robert Fulton didnt actually invent the machine he is most commonly assciated with, but his inovation is what origianlly commercialized the steam boat. Fultons invention did not only lead to new inventions, but also created a new type of transportation around the world.
Robert Fulton, was born in Little Britain, Pennsylvania, in 1765. As a child, Fulton enjoyed building mechanical devices, taking on such projects as rockets and a hand-propelled paddle wheel boat. His interest turned to art as he matured, and by the age of seventeen, Fulton was supporting himself through his sales of portraits and technical drawings. In 1786, Fulton left the United States to study painting inEngland. Although he managed some success, the general response his work received was disappointing and convinced him to …show more content…

His assignment involved designing a canal system to replace the locks that were then in use. After several years of work, Fulton came up with a double inclined plane system for which he was granted a British patent in 1794. His creative ideas continued to flow as he developed a plan for cast iron aqueducts and invented a digging machine; in 1796, he published asummary of his ideas on improving canal navigation in his Treatise on theImprovement of Canal Navigation.

In 1797 further research on canals took Fulton to Paris, France. While he wasthere he became fascinated with the notion of a "plunging boat," or submarine, and began designing one based on the ideas of American inventor David Bushnell. Fulton approached the French government, then at war with England, withthe suggestion that his submarine could be used to place powder mines on thebottom of British warships. After some persuasion, the French agreed to fundthe development of the boats and, in 1800, Fulton launched the first submarine, the Nautilus, at

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