Robert Fulton

Robert Fulton (1765–1815) was an American engineer and inventor whose successful commercial steamboat service on the Hudson River helped establish steam-powered navigation.

North River Steamboat: A steamboat built for Robert Fulton that began scheduled service between New York City and Albany in 1807. Its Hudson River service demonstrated the commercial potential of Fulton’s steam navigation.
Steam engine: A heat engine that converts steam pressure into mechanical work. It supplied the power that drove Fulton’s vessels against river currents.
Canal du Midi: A seventeenth-century canal in southern France connecting the Atlantic watershed with the Mediterranean. Fulton proposed improvements to canal transport while working in France.
Transportation in the United States: The systems and technologies used to move people and goods across the United States. Fulton’s steamboat service became an early landmark in the country’s shift toward powered transport.
Hudson River: A major river flowing south through eastern New York to New York Harbor. Fulton’s first successful commercial steamboat route connected New York City and Albany along this river.
Paddle steamer: A vessel propelled by one or more paddlewheels turned by an engine. Fulton’s early commercial steamboats used paddlewheels to convert engine motion into thrust.
Torpedo: A self-propelled underwater weapon designed to strike a ship below the waterline. Fulton developed and promoted naval torpedoes before concentrating on commercial steam navigation.
Erie Canal: A canal completed in 1825 that linked the Hudson River with Lake Erie. Steamboats and the canal together strengthened New York’s trade connections with the interior.
Clermont (steamboat): The popular later name for the North River Steamboat, which entered Hudson River service in 1807. The vessel is widely remembered as the breakthrough associated with Fulton’s name.
John Fitch: An American inventor who built and demonstrated steam-powered boats in the 1780s and 1790s. Fitch’s earlier experiments show that Fulton’s distinction was commercial success, not the first steamboat idea.

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