Robert Fulton was a U.S. inventor who designed canals, submarines, mines, and the first commercially successful steamboat to travel on North American waterways. Fulton was born on November 14, 1765, to a Scots-Irish family in southeastern Pennsylvania. He grew up in the town of Lancaster in a family of a modest wealth. As a young man, Fulton became a portrait painter to a number of wealthy Pennsylvania families in the 1780s. He traveled to England in 1787 to advance his artistic career and did not return to the United States for 20 years.

In England, Fulton shifted the direction of his career from portrait painting to canal engineering. With the financial backing of a few landholders and industrialists, he developed sophisticated plans for canals that employed various mechanical devices such as wheels, inclined planes, and aqueducts. Fulton illustrated these features well, using his artistic talents, and in 1796 he published a book on canal design and sent letters to President George Washington and Pennsylvania governor Thomas Mifflin advocating canal projects in the United States. Although none of these projects came to fruition, a canal system later constructed in Pennsylvania followed Fulton's basic design.

In 1797 Fulton traveled to France, where he quickly established connections with the French government. By the end of 1797, he had refocused his energies on naval warfare and proposed a plan for a cigar-shaped submarine that could be used to plant bombs in the water to destroy enemy ships. Between 1797 and 1801, he developed a submarine called the Nautilus and experimented with it along the French coast of the English Channel and the Seine River. Though the Nautilus proved successful, Fulton declined to present it formally to Napoleon Bonaparte and dismantled it before French naval engineers could investigate and copy the design. He steadfastly considered himself a private entrepreneur with control of his creations independent of the will of the French regime under Napoleon.

Between 1800 and 1802, Fulton developed plans for submerged bombs that he called torpedoes, which would either be released by submarines or anchored on the sea floor. He also initially drew plans for a steamboat that he presented to Napoleon, although these plans were not developed at this time. In 1804 British agents lured Fulton to England to work for the Royal Navy. In two years of service, he designed and launched two torpedo attacks on French ships--and successfully tested a larger mine--before deciding to return to the United States.

Back in his home country, the now-famous Fulton resumed his work on torpedoes for the U.S. Navy and turned to his steamboat project in partnership with New Yorker Robert R. Livingston. With Livingston's financial support, Fulton completed his steamboat, commonly known as the Clermont (officially it was named the North River Steam Boat), which caused a national sensation with a trip up the Hudson River in 1807. By 1809 Livingston and Fulton had created another steamboat and established a commercial steamboat line with an exclusive right to operate on New York waters.

During the War of 1812 (1812-15), Fulton contracted with the Captain Stephen Decatur and the U.S. Navy to create the first ever steam warship; unfortunately, it was not completed until mid-1815. He also continued to test mines and more sophisticated torpedo boats, many of which were employed in various naval engagements. During the war, Fulton became embroiled in legal action, successfully defending his company's patent and monopoly rights to operate steamboats in New York. He died unexpectedly on February 24, 1815.

Bibliography:

Cynthia Owen Phillip, Robert Fulton: A Biography (New York: Franklin Watts, 1985)

Free term papers are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can use our professional writing services to buy a custom written research paper, term paper, or essay on American Revolution at affordable price. CustomTermPapers is the best solution for those who seek help in writing term papers, essays, and research papers related to American Revolution and other relevant topics.