This illustration shows where the boilers are inside a steamboat.
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by Michael Glenn A good number of people were involved with experiments with steam-powered vessels: Samuel Morey among them. Many of these people have their supporters and like to tout them as the true inventors of the steamboats-many regional prejudices withstanding. Most people in the U.S. learned that Robert Fulton invented the steamboat. the date was August 7, 1807. Imagine how it must have been-paddlewheels noisily creaking and splashing, crude steam engine shaking the deck, black sooty smoke belching from the chimney with sparks falling all around, people on board chattering with excitement as the vessel slowly moved up the Hudson River against the current and without a sail. Fulton's steamboat went from New York to Albany a 150-mile trip taking 32 hours at an average speed of about 5 miles-per-hour. She was called the CLERMONT. Her first historic journey was in 1807, Fulton advertised his boat to the public as THE NORTH RIVER STEAMBOAT. On September 4,1807, the vessel made her first voyage with commercial paying passengers up the NORTH RIVER. After a brief running season, Fulton's NORTH RIVER STEAMBOAT was completely rebuilt in spring of 1808. Design flaws were remedied and she was launched again, for all practical purposes, a new, stronger and larger boat. By the summer of 1808 the boat was such a success that it could not accommodate all of the people who wanted to passage on her. By march of 1809, the NORTH RIVER had made a clear profit of $16,000. On December 3, 1787 James Rumsey's steam-powered water-jet craft ran successfully for about two hours on the Potomac River averaging about 3 miles-per-hour. Before that, in 1776,Frenchman Marquis de Jouffroy d'Addans ran a steamboat on the saone River at Lyons (France) - moving under it's own power for 15 minutes before it's bottom gave way. In 1789, Englishman William Symington's small steam-powered sidewheel vessel ran briefly on the Forth and clyde canal between 5-7 miles-per-hour. In 1792, American Elijah Ormsbee's duck-foot steam paddler ran briefly out of Windsor's cove at Narragsett Bay, making 3 miles-per-hour. American samuel Morey built and ran a stern-wheel powered vessel, running Hartford to New york at about 5 miles per-hour in 1793. Back in England, William Symington ran his steam-powered sidewheel tug, the CHAROTTE DUNDAS, on the Forth and Clyde while towing two barges, each of 70 tons. In March of 1803, his vessel ran 19 1/2 miles in a 6-hour period without incident.But the credit went to Mr. Symington. A year later, American Robert L. Stevens ran steam-powered, screw-propelled vessel from New York to Hoboken. The truth is that none of the individual detail that made up Fulton's invention's where his own - they were all borrowed from others. There were many steam-boat inventors before Fulton who actually built the first working steamboat. there was - Jouffroy in 1776 - Rumsey in 1787 - Fitch in 1787 and 1790 - Symington in 1789 and 1803 - Ormsbee in 1792 - Morey in 1793 and stevens in 1804. While these vessels actually worked, they were all "experiments." Even Fitch's remarkably effective, after covering several thousand miles on a regular schedule, failed after less than a year of operation - a commercial failure. After Fitch's achievement, steamboat development stood virtually still for over 15 years. The English claimed that William Symington was the true inventor of the steamboat. After abandoning successful experiments in 1789, he received financial support from Thomas lord dundas of kerse to build a steam-powered tug for use on his canal. In march of 1803, the sidewheel CHARLOTTE DUNDAS would have successfully introduced steam navigation to England and the world. It probably could have, but it didn't, Mr.Symington's efforts pretty much ended there. Fulton carefully studied all of those who preceded him and combined all of their successes and made a steamboat that not only worked, but was commercially successful. Not a single part of his NORTH RIVER STEAMBOAT was his own invention - although he patented improvements on much of the machinery. His was, without question, the first useful steamboat. His vessel was the product of accumulated knowledge, not an isolated phenomenon as was those that preceded his. he took the best from each of the others, combining and improving on all of the pieces until the result of this synergism was success. The time was right. Acceptance was at hand. The boat worked. People could ride on it and did. nit paid it's own way - no longer an experiment or demonstration. After the NORTH RIVER STEAMBOAT began running, steamboats began to proliferate. Success breeding success - the ultimate testament. Those who came before Fulton, however brilliant and worthy, were only martyrs in the cause, because the times were not yet ready. Because of these reasons, Fulton deserves credit for being the inventor of the first successful steamboat. No, he wasn't the first to make a boat move under the power of steam. Yet, it was not until after his first successful trip in 1807 that we saw the fruit of his genius - his ability to improve upon his designs and continue at will to build effective steamboats. The principles of his success were so clear and well stated that others were able to follow his lead and repeat his efforts. Steamboats then proliferated everywhere. It has ceased being a philosophical experiment and had become a practical and reliable methods of transportation. Fulton was the right man at the right time place at the right time. Fulton was the true inventor of the steamboat. 
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