Robert fulton biography summary rubric

American engineer and inventor (–)

For other uses, see Robert Fulton (disambiguation).

Robert Fulton
Portrait of Robert Fulton by Benjamin West, , now housed at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York
Born	Robert Fulton ()November 14, Little Britain, Province of Pennsylvania, British America
Died	February 24, () (aged&#;49) New York City, U.S.
Resting place	Trinity Church Cemetery
Occupation(s)	Engineer, inventor, businessman
Years&#;active	–
Known&#;for	Steamboat, Nautilus&#;( submarine)
Spouse	Harriet Livingston &#; (m.&#;)&#;

Robert Fulton (November 14, – February 24, ) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially victorious steamboat, the North River Steamboat (also known as Clermont).

In , that steamboat traveled on the Hudson River with passengers from New York City to Albany and back again, a round trip of nautical miles ( kilometers), in 62 hours. The success of his steamboat changed river traffic and trade on major American rivers.

In , Fulton had been commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte, leader of France, to attempt to layout a submarine; he then produced Nautilus, the first practical submarine in history.^[1] Fulton is also credited with inventing some of the world's earliest naval torpedoes for use by the Royal Navy.^[2]

Fulton became interested in steam engines and the idea of steamboats in when he was around age 12 and visited state delegate William Henry of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who was interested in this topic.

Henry had learned about inventor James Watt and his Watt steam engine on an earlier visit to England.

Early life

Robert Fulton was born on a farm in Little Britain, Pennsylvania, on November 14, His father, Robert Fulton, married Mary Smith, daughter of Captain Joseph Smith and sister of Col.

Lester Smith,^[3] a comparatively well off family.^[4] He had three sisters, Isabella, Elizabeth, and Mary, and a younger brother, Abraham.^[5]

For six years, he lived in Philadelphia, where he painted portraits and landscapes, drew houses and machinery, and was able to send money dwelling to help support his mother.

In , Fulton bought a farm at Hopewell Township in Washington County near Pittsburgh for £80 (equivalent to $ in ),^[6] and moved his mother and family into it.

Career

Career in Europe (–)

In early , Fulton developed symptoms of tuberculosis and was advised by an eminent doctor to take an ocean voyage for the boon of his health.^[7] Fulton traveled to Europe, where he would live for the next twenty years.

He left for England in the autumn of , carrying several letters of introduction to Americans abroad 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 house, where Fulton lived for several years and studied painting. Fulton gained many commissions painting portraits and landscapes, which allowed him to support himself. He continued to experiment with mechanical inventions.^[5]

Fulton became caught up in the enthusiasm of the "Canal Mania".

In , he began developing his ideas for canals with inclined planes instead of locks. He obtained a patent for this idea in , and also began working on ideas for the steam power of boats. He published a leaflet about canals and patented a dredging machine and several other inventions.

In , he moved to Manchester to gain practical knowledge of English canal engineering. While there he became warm with Robert Owen, a cotton manufacturer and early socialist. Owen agreed to finance the growth 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 brief time.^[8]

As early as , Fulton proposed plans for steam-powered vessels to both the United States and British governments.

The first steamships had appeared considerably earlier. 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 In , de Jouffroy built Pyroscaphe, the first paddle steamer, which sailed successfully on the Saône.

The first successful trial run of a steamboat in America had been made by inventor John Fitch, on the Delaware River on August 22, William Symington had successfully tried steamboats in , and it seems probable that Fulton was aware of these developments.

In Britain, Fulton met the Duke of Bridgewater, Francis Egerton, whose canal, the first to be constructed in the country, was being used for trials of a steam tug. Fulton became very enthusiastic about the canals, and wrote a treatise on canal construction, suggesting improvements to locks and other features.

Working for the Duke of Bridgewater between and , Fulton had a boat designed in the Duke's timber yard, under the supervision of Benjamin Powell. After installation of the machinery supplied by the engineers Bateman and Sherratt of Salford, the boat was duly christened Bonaparte in honour of Fulton having served under Napoleon.

After expensive trials, because of the configuration of the design, the team feared the paddles might damage the clay lining of the canal and eventually abandoned the experiment. In , Bridgewater instead ordered eight vessels for his canal based on Charlotte Dundas, constructed by Symington.

In , Fulton went to Paris, where he was well acknowledged 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 (), on what is still called Rue des Panoramas (Panorama Street) today.^[9] While living in France, Fulton designed the first working muscle-powered submarine, Nautilus, between and He also experimented with torpedoes.

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 , was granted permission to build.^[10] The shipyard Perrier in Rouen built it, and the submarine sailed first in July on the Seine River in the same city.

In France, Fulton met Robert R. Livingston, who was appointed U.S. Ambassador to France in He also had a scientifically curious mind, and the two men decided to collaborate on building a steamboat and to endeavor operating it on the Seine. Fulton experimented with the liquid resistance of various hull shapes, made drawings and models, and had a steamboat constructed.

At the first trial the boat ran perfectly, but the hull was later rebuilt and strengthened. On August 9, , when this boat was driven up the River Seine, it sank. The boat was 66 feet (20&#;m) long, with an 8-foot (&#;m) beam, and made between 2+1&#;2 and 3+1&#;2 knots (5 and 6&#;km/h) against the current.

In , 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" (modern "mines").

These were tested, along with several other of his inventions, during the Raid on Boulogne, but met with limited success. Although Fulton continued to develop his inventions with the British until , the crushing naval victory by Admiral Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar greatly reduced the risk of French invasion.

Fulton was increasingly sidelined as a result.^[2]

Career in the Merged States (–)

In , Fulton returned to the United States. In , 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 Recent York City and up the Hudson River to the express capital Albany. Clermont made the nautical-mile (&#;km) 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.^[11]

The Clermont was the first successful steamboat in America. While it was being built people called it "Fulton's Folly".

The Clermont had sails as good 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.

Robert Fulton was a colonial American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat. Inhe was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte to design the "Nautilus", which was the first practical submarine in history. He is also credited with inventing some of the world's earliest naval torpedoes for use by the British Royal Navy. Fulton became interested in steam engines and using them on steamboats in when he was around age 12 and visited state delegate William Henry of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who himself had earlier learned about inventor James Watt,and his Watt steam engine on a visit to England.

The engine was in the center of the boat and was surrounded by cord wood. The engine was 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 (&#;m).

The boat itself was feet (41&#;m) long and 18 feet (&#;m) wide. Its displacement was tons.^[12] Fulton received two patents for his steamboat, one in and the other in ^[13]

From 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 batteryDemologos. This, the first steam-driven warship in the world, was built for the United States Navy for the War of The heavy vessel was not completed until after Fulton's death and was named in his honor.

From October to January , Fulton, along with Livingston and Nicholas Roosevelt (–), worked together on a joint plan to build a new steamboat, New Orleans, sturdy enough to take down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans, Louisiana.

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 proximate Cairo, Illinois, and the confluence with the Mississippi River; and down past Memphis, Tennessee, and Natchez, Mississippi, to New Orleans some 90 miles (&#;km) by river from the Gulf of Mexico coast.

This was less than a decade after the United States had acquired the Louisiana Territory from France. These rivers were not well settled, mapped, or protected. 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.

Fulton was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in ^[14]

Personal life

Prior to his marriage in , Robert Fulton had a variety of homosexual and polyamorous relationships.^[15] Well-known among them was a ménage à trois with noted philanthropist couple Ruth and Joel Barlow while living in Paris with them for six years.^[16] Letters between them reveal a sexual relationship among all three, including notes from American Revolutionary and patriot Joel Barlow requesting in baby-talk language for him "to have a wonderful summer of sexual pleasure with his wife" while he was away, and, importantly, that "he must not lethis beautiful body be deranged, and if he does anything wrong, he'll come and sever off his penis."^[15] After he left Paris, he lived for two years at the castle of William Courtenay, 9th Earl of Devon, a known queer, although there is no confirmed epistolary evidence of an explicit sexual relationship between them^[15][17]

On January 8, , Fulton married Harriet Livingston (–), the daughter of Walter Livingston and niece of Robert R.

Livingston, prominent men in the Hudson River area, whose family dated to the colonial era.^[3][18] During his marriage, he proposed a foursome with himself, his wife, and Ruth and Joel Barlow in Washington, DC, but Harriet rejected the offer.^[15] Harriet, who was nineteen years his junior, was good educated and was an accomplished amateur painter and musician.^[4] Together, they had four children:^[19]

Fulton died in in New York Urban area from tuberculosis (then known as "consumption").

He had been walking home on the frozen Hudson River when one of his friends, Thomas Addis Emmet, fell through the ice. In rescuing his friend, Fulton got soaked with icy water. He is believed to have contracted pneumonia. When he got home, his sickness worsened.

He was diagnosed with consumption and died at 49 years old. After his death, his widow remarried to Charles Augustus Dale on November 26,

He is buried in the Trinity Church Cemetery for Trinity Church (Episcopal) at Wall Street in New York Metropolis, near other notable Americans such as former U.S.

Secretaries of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton and Albert Gallatin. His descendants contain Cory Lidle, a former Major League Baseball pitcher.^[20]

Legacy

Posthumous honors

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 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 USS&#;Fulton in honor of Robert Fulton.

Fulton Hall at the Together States Merchant Marine Academy houses the Department of Marine Engineering and included laboratories for diesel and steam engineering, refrigeration, marine engineering, thermodynamics, materials testing, machine shop, mechanical engineering, welding, electrical machinery, control systems, electric circuits, engine room simulators and graphics.

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 erected a bust of Fulton in one of the parks of Guatemala City.^[21]

In , Fulton was inducted into the "National Inventors Hall of Fame" in Alexandria, Virginia.^[22]

Places named for Fulton

Many places in the U.S.

are named for Robert Fulton, including:

Counties

Cities and towns

Other places

In popular culture

20th Century-Fox's film, Little Old Fresh York, based on a act 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 thespian 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 s.

In the first serial, Triton (,^[27]re-made in ), 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 (), they are surprised to find themselves working with Fulton after he changed sides.

In the series, Fulton was played by Reed De Rouen, in the and series he was played by Robert Cawdron.

A Robert Fulton cartoon personality appears in the Casper the Friendly Ghost short film Red, White, and Boo.

Author James McGee used Fulton's experiments in early submarine warfare (against wooden warships) as a major plot element in his novel Ratcatcher.

Invasion (), the tenth novel in the "Kydd" naval warfare series by Julian Stockwin, uses Fulton and his submarine as an important plot element.^[28]

Until , Disney Springs at Walt Disney World had a restaurant named Fulton's Crab House with a building in the shape of a steamboat.^[29][30]

Gallery

Publications

See also

References

Sources

External links

• Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (). "Fulton, Robert"&#;. Encyclopædia Britannica (11th&#;ed.).

  Cambridge University Press.

• Robert Fulton Birthplace
• Photos of Fulton's Birthplace
• Phair, Montgomery.
  Robert Fulton, born in Little Britain on November 14, and died in New York on February 24,was an American engineer, painter, submariner and inventor. Considered as the creator of the steamboat, he was in fact the one who, through his engineering talent, managed to make a process already known operational, as proven by the experiments of Denis Papin in GermanyAuxiron and Jouffroy d'Abbans in FranceJohn Fitch in the United States, and Symingtonin England. This same engineering talent led him to realize, taking into account David Bushnell's invention, the first military submarine having shown its capacity to wreck. His three older sisters were Elizabeth, Isabella, and Mary; Abraham was his younger brother.

  "Robert Fulton and the Secret War of ". Casebook: The War of . Archived from the original on October 2,

• Chapter XIII: Robert Fulton in Great Fortunes, and How They Were Made (), by James D. McCabe Jr., Illustrated by G.

  F. and E. B. Bensell, a Project Gutenberg eBook.

• Harvey, W.S.; Downs-Rose, G. (). "William Symington". Archived from the original on February 16,
• Buckman, David Lear (). Old Steamboat Days on The Hudson River.

  The Grafton Press. Archived from the unique on August 26,

• Examples of art by Robert Fulton at the Art Renewal Center
• Thurston, Robert H. "Chapter V: The Latest Steam Engine". A history of the growth of the steam-engine.

  Archived from the original on Archived from the original.

• Iles, George (), Leading American Inventors, New York: Henry Holt and Company, pp.&#;40–75
• Booknotes interview with Kirkpatrick Sale on The Fire of His Genius: Robert Fulton and the American Dream, November 25,
• Collection of Robert Fulton manuscriptsArchived at the Wayback Machine – digital facsimile from the Linda Hall Library