R. Robert Fulton was born on November 14, 1765 in Little Britain, Pennsylvania to Robert Fulton and Elizabeth Smith Fulton. His father was a well-to-do Belfast linen merchant and his mother was from a Quaker family. At an early age, Robert’s parents recognized his talent for art and had him enrolled in an art school in Philadelphia. Shortly afterwards, however, his father died, which dramatically changed the course of Robert’s life. He was then sent to live with an uncle in Little Britain, an outdoor-oriented village that heavily depended on grain farming and hospitality to sustain itself.
At age 19, Robert left Little Britain and moved to governement-funded “Workhouse” in Philadelphia where he learned and worked as a type of apprentice, acquiring skills in mechanical engineering and working with metals. He took odd jobs during the day to make ends meet and, at the same time, worked on several devices at night, under the tutelage of surveyor Andrew Ellicott. He designed devices to measure surfaces inclinations, angles and distances, improved plows and sleds, and built waterwheels and other engines.
In 1786, at the age of 21, Robert left the Workhouse and went to seek his fortune. He went to London hoping to find a rich benefactor who would finance his inventions. He set up a workshop in the Soho district and began to work on a boat propelled by a paddle-wheel, a concept he had been toying with since his days in Pennsylvania. After a few years of unsuccessful attempts, he got the attention of the Duke of Bridgewater who offered him a job to build a canal boat. This was Robert’s first commercial success: the “Bridgewater” boat was ready for use in 1801.
It was his invention of an “air-boat” or steamboat, however, that made Robert’s name in history. He tested his invention, with financial backing from the British government and a few wealthy individuals, on August 8, 1803 on the Thames River in London. A few months later, he sailed the “Clermont” on New York’s Hudson River, transforming the American transportation system and revolutionizing the shipping industry in the country.
Robert Fulton is best remembered as the inventor of the steamboat, but he also made many other noteworthy contributions during his lifetime. He was granted a patent request in America for his submarine boat, the “Nautilus”, built in France in 1805 and tested with success in front of Napoleon. He also wrote extensively on the art of navigation, with books such as “Treatise on the Improvement of Canal Navigation” and “A Treatise on the Steam Engine”.
Robert Fulton, who passed away in 1815, was one of the most brilliant inventors of his time. He has inspired generations of scientists and engineers and has left an invaluable legacy in transportation and naval engineering.
