Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton was born on a farm in Little Britain, Pennsylvania, on the 14th of November 1765. His father, Robert Fulton, married Mary Smith, daughter of Captain Joseph Smith and sister of Col. Lester Smith. He had three sisters, Isabella, Elizabeth, and Mary, and a younger brother, Abraham. For six years, he lived in Philadelphia, where he painted portraits and landscapes. He drew houses and machinery to support his family financially. In early 1786, Fulton developed symptoms of tuberculosis. An eminent doctor advised him to take an ocean voyage for the benefit of his health. He left for England in the autumn of 1786 with letters of introduction from prominent individuals he had met in Philadelphia. He already corresponded with artist Benjamin West. Their fathers had been close friends. West took Fulton into his home, where Fulton lived for several years and studied painting. Fulton gained many commissions painting portraits and landscapes, which allowed him to support himself.
Fulton became caught up in the enthusiasm of the Canal Mania. In 1793, he began developing ideas for canals with inclined planes instead of locks. He obtained a patent for this idea in 1794. He 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 1794, he moved to Manchester to gain practical knowledge of English canal engineering. While there he became friendly with Robert Owen, a cotton manufacturer and early socialist. Owen agreed to finance the development and promotion of Fulton's designs for inclined planes and earth-digging machines. He was instrumental in introducing the American to a canal company, which awarded him a sub-contract. But Fulton was not successful at this practical effort and he gave up the contract after a short time. As early as 1793, Fulton proposed plans for steam-powered vessels to both the United States and British governments. The earliest steam-powered ship, in which the engine moved oars, was built by Claude de Jouffroy in France. Called Palmipède, it was tested on the Doubs in 1776.
In 1797, Fulton went to Paris, where he was well known as an inventor. He studied French and German, along with mathematics and chemistry. Fulton also exhibited the first panorama painting to be shown in Paris, Pierre Prévost's Vue de Paris depuis les Tuileries (1800), on what is still called Rue des Panoramas today. While living in France, Fulton designed the first working muscle-powered submarine, Nautilus, between 1793 and 1797. When tested, his submarine operated underwater for 17 minutes in 25 feet of water. He asked the government to subsidize its construction, but he was turned down twice. Eventually, he approached the Minister of Marine and, in 1800, was granted permission to build. The shipyard Perrier in Rouen built it, and the submarine sailed first in July 1800 on the Seine River in the same city. In 1804, Fulton switched allegiance and moved to Britain, where he was commissioned by Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger to build a range of weapons for use by the Royal Navy during Napoleon's invasion scares. Among his inventions were the world's first modern naval torpedoes. These were tested, along with several other of his inventions, during the 1804 Raid on Boulogne.
In 1806, Fulton returned to the United States. In 1807, he and Robert R. Livingston built the first commercially successful steamboat, North River Steamboat (later known as Clermont). Livingston's shipping company began using it to carry passengers between New York City and up the Hudson River to the state capital Albany. Clermont made the round trip in 32 hours. Passengers on the maiden voyage included a lawyer Jones and his family from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. His infant daughter Alexandra Jones later served as a Union nurse on a steamboat hospital in the American Civil War. While it was being built people called it Fulton's Folly. The Clermont had sails as well as a steam engine. At each end of the boat was a short mast with a small square sail that could be unfurled when needed. The engine was in the center of the boat and was surrounded by cord wood. The engine was 24-horsepower. Above the engine was a tall and slender smoke stack. On each side was a big paddle wheel that was open and uncovered. The diameter of the paddle wheels was 15 feet. The boat itself was 150 feet long and 14 feet wide.
From 1811 until his death, Fulton was a member of the Erie Canal Commission, appointed by the Governor of New York. Fulton's final design was the floating battery New Orleans. This, the first steam-driven warship in the world, was built for the United States Navy for the War of 1812. The heavy vessel was not completed until after Fulton's death and was named in his honor. From October 1811 to January 1812, Fulton, along with Livingston and Nicholas Roosevelt (1767, 1854), worked together on a joint project to build a new steamboat, New Orleans. It traveled from industrial Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where it was built, with stops at Wheeling, West Virginia; Cincinnati, Ohio; past the Falls of the Ohio at Louisville, Kentucky; to near Cairo, Illinois, and the confluence with the Mississippi River. By achieving this first breakthrough voyage and also proving the ability of the steamboat to travel upstream against powerful river currents, Fulton changed the entire trade and transportation outlook for the American heartland. On the 8th of January 1808, Fulton married Harriet Livingston (1783, 1826). Together, they had four children.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania donated a marble statue of Fulton to the National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol. Fulton was also honored for his development of steamship technology in New York City's Hudson-Fulton Celebration of the Centennial in 1909. A replica of his first steam-powered steam vessel, Clermont, was built for the occasion. Five ships of the United States Navy have borne the name Fulton in honor of Robert Fulton. Fulton Hall at the United States Merchant Marine Academy houses the Department of Marine Engineering. Bronze statues of Fulton and Christopher Columbus represent commerce on the balustrade of the galleries of the Main Reading Room in the Thomas Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. They are two of 16 historical figures, each pair representing one of the 8 pillars of civilization. The Guatemalan government in 1910 erected a bust of Fulton in one of the parks of Guatemala City. In 2006, Fulton was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Alexandria, Virginia. Many places in the U.S. are named for Robert Fulton, including counties like Fulton County, Georgia, and cities like Fulton, New York.
20th Century-Fox's 1940 film, Little Old New York, based on a 1920 play by Rida Johnson Young, is a fictionalized version of Fulton's life from his arrival in New York to the first sailing of Clermont. British actor Richard Greene starred as Fulton with Brenda Joyce as Harriet Livingston. Alice Faye and Fred MacMurray played wharf friends who help Fulton overcome problems to realize his dream. A fictionalized account of Fulton's role was produced by BBC television during the 1960s. In the first serial, Triton (1961, re-made in 1968), two British naval officers, Captain Belwether and Lieutenant Lamb, are involved in spying on Fulton while he is working for the French. In the sequel, Pegasus (1969), they were surprised to find themselves working with Fulton after he changed sides. In the 1961 series, Fulton was played by Reed De Rouen, in the 1968 and 1969 series he was played by Robert Cawdron. A Robert Fulton cartoon character appears in the 1955 Casper the Friendly Ghost short film Red, White, and Boo. Author James McGee used Fulton's experiments in early submarine warfare as a major plot element in his 2006 novel Ratcatcher.
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Common questions
When was Robert Fulton born and where did he grow up?
Robert Fulton was born on the 14th of November 1765 on a farm in Little Britain, Pennsylvania. He lived in Philadelphia for six years before leaving for England.
What inventions did Robert Fulton create during his time in France between 1793 and 1800?
Robert Fulton designed the first working muscle-powered submarine named Nautilus between 1793 and 1797. The submarine operated underwater for 17 minutes in 25 feet of water when tested in July 1800 on the Seine River.
How long did it take the North River Steamboat to travel from New York City to Albany?
The North River Steamboat made the round trip from New York City to Albany in 32 hours. This vessel became known as Clermont and was the first commercially successful steamboat built by Robert Fulton and Robert R. Livingston.
Why did Robert Fulton move to Britain in 1804 and what weapons did he develop there?
Robert Fulton moved to Britain in 1804 after switching allegiance and was commissioned by Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger to build weapons for the Royal Navy. His inventions included the world's first modern naval torpedoes which were tested during the 1804 Raid on Boulogne.
When did Robert Fulton die and what final design did he create for the United States Navy?
Robert Fulton died in 1815 while serving as a member of the Erie Canal Commission from 1811 until his death. His final design was the floating battery New Orleans, which was the first steam-driven warship in the world and named in his honor.