Review of "The Life of Robert Fulton and a History of Steam Navigation."
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Date Published: December 17, 2024
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A Review of “The Life of Robert Fulton and a History of Steam Navigation” by Thomas W. Knox
- Reviews of the Day: 1886
- Selected Insights from “The Life of Robert Fulton”
- This Author’s Thoughts on “The Life of Robert Fulton”
- Reviews of the Day: 1886
“The Life of Robert Fulton” was released in late 1886. Here are a few of the book reviews from that timeframe:
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On October 4, 1886, The Indianapolis Journal wrote in “The Field of Literature” that The Life of Robert Fulton is “not only a biography of the father of steam navigation but a history of steam navigation from its first experiments to the present time [1886]. ... It is liberally illustrated and is a valuable addition to scientific history.”
On October 9, 1886, The Chicago Tribune wrote in “Current Literature” that The Life of Robert Fulton is “replete with interest. It tells the story of a life of constant activity and usefulness, and describes the rise and progress of steam navigation in a manner most acceptable and clear. Robert Fulton possessed a genius so strong and decided that from his earliest years there was never any doubt as to his career. ... Everyone will read with pleasure the accounts of the first voyages of Clermont given by Colonel Knox [the book’s author].” On October 11, 1886, The Portland Daily Press wrote, “The Life of Robert Fulton is the latest work of Thomas W. Knox. ... Robert Fulton not only invented the steamboat, but the submarine boat, and it was he who first demonstrated the possibility of blowing up vessels by means of a submarine torpedo. ... Mr. Knox gives us an account of Fulton’s inventions free from technical jargon. ... The style of the book makes it attractive reading while its facts make it a work of permanent value.” |
Portrait of Robert Fulton from
“The Life of Robert Fulton” |
- Selected Quotes and Insights from “The Life of Robert Fulton”
- Robert Fulton Saved His Money for His Ventures and Support of Family
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“In the four years between his seventeenth and his twenty-first birthday he not only supported himself, but sent occasional remittances to his mother and sisters. ... How much money he had saved from his earnings is not known, but he certainly had accumulated enough for the purchase of a farm in Washington County, for which he paid eighty pounds (four hundred dollars), a considerable amount for those days. ... [When he turned 21,] he commemorated the event by giving a home to his mother.”
- Robert Fulton Always Seemed To Be Working on Something “New” A short list of some of his works while he was temporarily in England included:
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Front cover of “The Life of Robert Fulton and a History of Steam Navigation.”
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- Robert Fulton’s proper position in the history of steam navigation
“Fulton never claimed to have been the first to suggest steam navigation, but simply to have devised improvements by which it could be successfully accomplished.
“All previous attempts had failed to be remunerative to those who made them, and it is a matter of history that the first successful steamboat was the one built by the man whose biography is written here: Robert Fulton.”
“All previous attempts had failed to be remunerative to those who made them, and it is a matter of history that the first successful steamboat was the one built by the man whose biography is written here: Robert Fulton.”
- Once Again, the Unethical Stole Another’s Profits
“History repeated itself in the case of Fulton as it has repeated itself in the case of every inventor whose invention proves successful. Human nature is the same in all ages and until the millennium comes, every inventor whose work promises to yield a pecuniary advantage will be assailed by unprincipled men who would rob him of glory, profit, and good name, in order to benefit themselves.
“Such is the history of inventions from the day that patent laws were first enacted, down to the moment these lines are written. ... Though theoretically possessing a fortune, Fulton really died penniless in consequence of the numerous lawsuits with which he was harassed and the opposition that had followed the successful establishment of the Clermont and her sister boats on the Hudson.”
“Such is the history of inventions from the day that patent laws were first enacted, down to the moment these lines are written. ... Though theoretically possessing a fortune, Fulton really died penniless in consequence of the numerous lawsuits with which he was harassed and the opposition that had followed the successful establishment of the Clermont and her sister boats on the Hudson.”
- This Author’s Thoughts on “The Life of Robert Fulton”
The Life of Robert Fulton and a History of Steam Navigation is really two books combined into one: through the first eight chapters—169 pages, it is a biography of Robert Fulton with insights into his miscellaneous inventions and contributions to steam navigation; the last fourteen chapters—328 pages, are a history of steam navigation through the late 1800’s.
Fulton is rarely mentioned in the latter chapters of the book and since I bought this book to acquire some insights into Mr. Fulton, I focused on the first eight chapters—only scanning the last fourteen.
The story of Robert Fulton is one that is similar to many of the early to mid-Nineteenth Century: educated early at home by his mother, loved the manufacturing shop more than school books and studies, experimented with all the technologies that were available to him in that day—making a rocket from candles, and exhibiting all the traits of a “visionary child” with a disdain for the mundane and rote memorizations that would get him labeled at school—at a later age, as “dull witted.”
Robert Fulton’s mind was one that would not stop thinking, questioning, or solving problems through invention and innovativeness. The book is full of engravings of Fulton’s inventions and further inventions of his time that reached far beyond just steam-driven boats. For a reader who is visual, this is a wonderful, unique differentiator as 80 out of the 497 pages are illustrations.
One engraving is shown immediately below with a short, selected list from the other eighty-plus illustrations provided in the book.
Fulton is rarely mentioned in the latter chapters of the book and since I bought this book to acquire some insights into Mr. Fulton, I focused on the first eight chapters—only scanning the last fourteen.
The story of Robert Fulton is one that is similar to many of the early to mid-Nineteenth Century: educated early at home by his mother, loved the manufacturing shop more than school books and studies, experimented with all the technologies that were available to him in that day—making a rocket from candles, and exhibiting all the traits of a “visionary child” with a disdain for the mundane and rote memorizations that would get him labeled at school—at a later age, as “dull witted.”
Robert Fulton’s mind was one that would not stop thinking, questioning, or solving problems through invention and innovativeness. The book is full of engravings of Fulton’s inventions and further inventions of his time that reached far beyond just steam-driven boats. For a reader who is visual, this is a wonderful, unique differentiator as 80 out of the 497 pages are illustrations.
One engraving is shown immediately below with a short, selected list from the other eighty-plus illustrations provided in the book.
Selection of Illustrations Available in “The Life of Robert Fulton.”
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A wonderful read on the life of Robert Fulton, and some amazing images of steam-driven inventions from the 19th Century.
Cheers,
- Peter E.
Cheers,
- Peter E.