234 years ago today, John Fitch was granted a US patent for a boat propelled by steam power which used mechanical paddles to propel it atop lakes and rivers—an invention that revolutionized commercial transportation of both passengers and freight. The American inventor, clockmaker, silversmith, surveyor, entrepreneur, and engineer, also provided beer, rum, and other supplies in 1778 to General Washington’s troops at Valley Forge. READ more about the first steam ship and its inventor… (1791)

He first tested his steam-powered concept using a 45-foot-long boat on the Delaware River, and he soon was operating the first steamboat service in the US, carrying up to 30 paying passengers between Philadelphia and Burlington, NJ. His improved designs produced a 60-foot (18 m) boat powered by a ste

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