Robert Fulton

Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was a US engineer and inventor widely credited with developing the first steam-powered ship.

Later life

The New York legislature granted Fulton the privilege to be the sole provider of all steamboat traffic for thirty years. Competition was forbidden by law. Thomas Gibbons, a steamboat entrepreneur, hired Cornelius Vanderbilt to ferry passengers for a cheaper fare in defiance of the law in an attempt to compete with Fulton for about six months. In 1824, in Gibbons v. Ogden, the Supreme Court struck down Fulton's government-granted monopoly ruling that states cannot legally regulate interstate commerce. Steamboat fares almost immediately dropped from seven to three dollars after the decision and traffic increased dramatically. Fulton was unable to successfully compete with the low fares offered by Gibbons and Vanderbilt, which resulted in his bankruptcy.

Related Topics:
Cornelius Vanderbilt - Government-granted monopoly

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Fulton is accused by Burton W. Folsom, Jr. in The Myth of the Robber Barons of being what he calls a "political entrepreneur" --a businessperson who seeks to gain profit through subsidies, protectionism, government contracts, or other such favorable arrangements with government(s) through political influence rather than competing fairly in the marketplace.

Related Topics:
Burton W. Folsom, Jr. - The Myth of the Robber Barons - Political entrepreneur

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Robert Fulton is interred in the Trinity Churchyard Cemetery in Manhattan, New York.

Related Topics:
Trinity Churchyard Cemetery - Manhattan, New York

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Fulton County, Ohio is named for him.

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