HUDSON RIVER MARITIME MUSEUM
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Robert Fulton

18th Century inventor Robert Fulton was one of the first people to make steamboats commercially viable. Supported by the Livingston family, his first steamboat was named The North River (later referred to as the Clermont). He later went on to oversee a virtual monopoly on steamboat manufacture and travel, before the Supreme Court heard the case Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) which declared that state-regulated monopolies (as Fulton and Livingston had arranged with New York State) could not trump federal commerce laws. After this landmark case, Fulton and Livingston's monopoly on steamboat travel ended.  

These public domain biographies of Robert Fulton are arranged by date of publication, so the texts can be put in historical context. 

The Life of Robert Fulton by his friend Cadwallader Colden (1817)


Robert Fulton by Robert Henry Thurston (1891)


Robert Fulton, Engineer and Artist by Henry Winram Dickinson (1912)

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Hudson River Maritime Museum
50 Rondout Landing
Kingston, NY 12401

​845-338-0071
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  • Visit
    • About
    • Plan Your Visit
    • Guided Tours
    • Events Calendar
    • Rondout Lighthouse
    • Docking
    • Visiting Vessels
  • Learn
    • Lecture Series
    • Youth Programs
    • School Programs
    • Exhibits on View >
      • Working Waterfronts
      • New Age of Sail
      • Warning Signs
      • Mary Powell
      • Rescuing the River
    • Online Exhibits
    • Speaking Engagements
  • Solaris Cruises
    • Cruise Schedule
    • Meet Our Boat
    • Book A Charter
  • Wooden Boat School
    • Boat School
    • Youth Classes
    • Adult Classes
    • Boat Building Classes
    • Boats For Sale
  • Sailing
    • Sailing School
    • Adult Sailing
    • Youth Sailing
    • Riverport Women's Sailing Conference
    • Sea Scouts
  • Join & Support
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Volunteer
    • Ways to Give
    • Our Supporters
  • Online Store