Education, History
American engineer and inventor Robert Fulton: biography, discoveries and interesting facts
Robert Fulton - one of the most interesting names of modern times. An eyewitness of many interesting events, a participant in wars, an inventor and a scientist. It is possible to enumerate the unique qualities of this person for a long time, but would not it be better to address the legacy of what Robert Fulton left to descendants?
Biography
Childhood and the youth of the future inventor were held in America. The date of birth is 1765. Place of birth - small town of Little Britain. Father Robert died when the boy was only three years old. Robert and his family had to move closer to their mother's mother - in a small town of Lancaster. There Robert Fulton went to school.
Education of those times left much to be desired. The pupils were given for memorizing long pieces of Greek and Roman works, stories from the life of distant European countries were told - all this did not represent the slightest interest for the future inventor. Where more willingly he spent time in the old smithy on the edge of the city, rummaged in the tools of the craftsmen, collected all sorts of trinkets. Already at the age of thirteen he made his first technical drawing, and a little later on his sketches the first world-class boat with a steam engine descended to the water.
After graduation, Robert Fulton tries himself in jewelry. Then he tried to become a draftsman. Realizing how much he lacks knowledge, he decides on a long trip to England - the capital of technical innovations. It is here that everything that Robert Fulton invented begins to take real shape - dreams become reality.
Staying in England
Robert Fulton lived with Benjamin West, one of the most famous artists of the time. He did not abandon his dream to make a sea ship with a fundamentally new engine - not oar and not windy. Finally, the project was created. The first drawing of the steamer was presented to the Government of England in 1793.
In 1797, he moved to Paris, where he continued to work on his invention, which would immortalize his name - Robert Fulton. Biography of the inventor speaks about the most intense period of his life. In Paris, Fulton studies German and French, improves his own knowledge of chemistry, technology and mathematics. Here he meets James Ramsay, the British inventor, who in 1786 built a prototype of the first steamship in West Virginia.
Opposition to the discovery
To Franklin's surprise, his discovery was considered a whim, a useless toy. The Admiralty indicated that it was not going to invest in a ship which was known to exist. Disappointed Robert Fulton with his projects gathered in France, where by that time the revolution had already died down, and Napoleon 1 came to power. Perhaps, his new projects will be needed in France?
Robert Fulton and Napoleon
In the notes of Count Mirabeau there is a mention of the meeting of the American inventor with Napoleon. Robert Fulton, the creator of the steamer, invited the emperor to replenish the fleet of France with new ships that would be driven by steam. He urged the emperor that with such fighting machines Napoleon 1 would quickly overcome his eternal rival - France.
After hearing the inventor, Napoleon exclaimed:
- Every day I put on the table horrendous projects, more stupid than it is impossible to invent. Only yesterday I was offered to land on the coast of England cavalry, seated on tame dolphins. Go away - you, apparently, are one of those crazy!
It is interesting that just eight years later the English ship "Bellerophon" drove Napoleon to the place of his first exile - to St. Helena. In the open sea the English ship met the steamer Fulton, which was driven by steam engines.
The steamship passed Bellerophon and disappeared behind the horizon. Seeing the American steamer, Napoleon sadly remarked:
"I did not listen to Fulton, I lost my crown."
First ships
Well, while Fulton is looking for sponsors for the construction of the first ships with steam engines, in 1800 the submarine "Nautilus" was demonstrated in France, captivating the imagination of onlookers.
The Conquest of the Sea
In America, Robert Fulton spent several years on improving the principles of wheeled engines, working on steam traction. Three years later, after returning to his homeland at the end of the summer of 1807, the first steamship was launched into the Hudson's waters. Contemporaries called it the "steamer of the Northern River from Claremont", but in historical notes he is known as "Claremont." In fact, Claremont - the name of the manor of Fulton's friend, which was located 177 kilometers from New York. The first flight of the "Northern River" was made along the Hudson, along the route "Claremont-New York". Convinced of the economic potential of his invention, Fulton patented his discovery and established the production of steamships in the United States.
Steamers in Russia
In 1813, Fulton asked the Russian government to grant the exclusive right to build riverboats on the territory of the Russian Empire. Emperor Alexander 1 gave him all the necessary rights, but could not fulfill the order of the Fulton government. In three years, not a single ship was launched. After the death of the inventor in 1815, Charles Byrd bought the monopoly for the construction of ships, which in the same year launched his first steam-powered ship. A report on this event was published in the journal Son of the Fatherland. There, for the first time, the word "steamer" was used, which later became firmly in modern Russian.
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