Robert Fulton was born November 14, 1765 in Little Britain, Pennsylvania. He moved to Lancaster as a boy, becoming interested in mechanical things and art. "In his childhood, all his hours of recreation were passed in the shops of mechanics..." (Cadwallader Colden 1817). Fulton worked for a gunsmith and learned about gunpowder.
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At 14, Fulton built a manual paddlewheel boat for fishing on the Conestoga River. "In 1779, he tried his scheme on the ...fishing boat... and found it so satisfactory that he and his comrade used it a long time on their fishing excursions on the Conestoga, about Rockford..." |
Fulton became an artist, painting portraits for Benjamin Franklin. He studied art in Paris. Fulton stopped painting to begin work on canal development, torpedoes, submarines, and the steamboat. Fulton's art background helped him make elaborate sketches for his work. "Fulton’s power as an accurate draftsman enabled him to describe fully on paper, with accompanying charts, his various models of inventions." (Alice Crary Sutcliffe 1909). |
When Fulton returned to America, President Jefferson asked him to provide a submarine fleet and help create a canal system. He built the steamboat, the steam warship, and helped design the Erie Canal before his death in 1815. The nation mourned Fulton as a national hero.
The NY Post wrote, "His is the only loss for which the public has no indemnity. Politicians, historians, poets,etc. are found throughout the United States, and readily succeed to each other, but there is no person who will succeed to Mr. Fulton's genius as a mechanic..." . |
“This is the only instance… of such public testimonials of regret, esteem, and respect, being offered on the death of a private citizen, who never held any office, and was only distinguished by his virtues, his genius, and the employment of his talents.” (Cadwallader Colden 1817)