Robert Fulton (14 November 1765 - 24 February 1815) was an engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat commercially. In 1800 he was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte to design the Nautilus, the first practical submarine in history.
Fulton has been interested in steamboats in 1777 when he visited William Henry of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who earlier learned about James Watt steam machine on a visit to England. Henry then made his own engine and in 1767 he had tried to put the engine into the boat. The experiment failed because the ship sank, but interest continues.