Steamship

A ship propelled by a steam engine, typically driving a paddlewheel or screw propeller. Steamships reduced dependence on wind and transformed transport across rivers and oceans.

Steam engine: A heat engine that converts steam pressure into mechanical work. Its reciprocating machinery supplied the power that moved a steamship.
Charlotte Dundas: An early steam-powered vessel built by William Symington and tested on Scotland’s Forth and Clyde Canal. Its 1803 trial demonstrated that steam propulsion could move a working vessel.
Transatlantic passenger ship: A passenger vessel designed to carry people across the Atlantic Ocean. Steam propulsion made transatlantic schedules faster and more dependable.
Sailing ship: A vessel propelled primarily by sails that capture the force of the wind. Unlike a steamship, it depends on wind direction and strength for propulsion.
Marine boiler: A shipboard pressure vessel that heats water to produce steam for an engine. Boiler design determined how much power a ship could sustain at sea.
Clermont (steamboat): Robert Fulton’s 1807 steamboat that established regular commercial service on the Hudson River. Its success showed that steam navigation could support a scheduled passenger route.
Ocean liner: A passenger ship built for regular long-distance service between ports. Ocean liners turned steam-powered crossings into scheduled mass travel.
Diesel engine: An internal-combustion engine that ignites fuel through compression to produce power. Diesel propulsion later replaced steam in many ships through greater efficiency and simpler operation.
Paddle steamer: A vessel propelled by one or more paddlewheels driven by an engine. Paddlewheels were an early, visible way to convert steam power into thrust.
William Symington: A Scottish engineer whose steam engines powered early experimental steamboats. His work on Charlotte Dundas helped prove the practical value of steam propulsion.

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