- American inventor,
b. Windsor, Conn. Fitch began (1785) work on the invention of the steam
engine and steamboat and secured soon afterward the exclusive right
to build and operate steamboats on the waters of New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
New York, Delaware, and Virginia. A trial run of his first steamer (1786)
was only a partial success. His next vessel, launched and operated on
the Delaware River in 1787, was followed by two others. Although Fitch
was not alone in developing the steam engine and steamboat, there is
good evidence that he invented the first American steamboat. Nevertheless,
he failed to receive either the opportunity to commercialize his invention
or the recognition he justly deserved. Frustrated by endless disappointments,
Fitch committed suicide in Bardstown, Ky.
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