John Fitch: The Forgotten Steamboat Pioneer

"He invented the steamboat... then died broke and forgotten! John Fitch—the impoverished

clockmaker who was America's real steamboat pioneer! In 1787, decades before Robert

Fulton, Fitch launched the first working steamboat in the US on the Delaware River!

He built four different versions, running a successful passenger service in Philadelphia,

but his ideas were too far ahead of his time. He was mocked by skeptics and bankrupted

by rivals! He begged Congress for help, was rejected, and died bitter

and penniless in a Kentucky tavern. His final prediction? That his invention would 'come into

common use and profit would accrue.' He was right—just 15 years too early! The ultimate genius