Flip to "A View of the Birth Place of Robert Fulton," Lancaster County, PA, hand-colored lithograph, Reigart & Dellinger, 1856.Close Window
Credit: Independence National Historical Park
Born and raised in Lancaster County, PA, Robert Fulton moved to England in 1787 to study painting. He soon turned to engineering, however, and designed a canal-digging machine, prefabricated iron bridge, explosive underwater mines, and a submarine. Fulton remained in Europe until December, 1806, when he returned to the United States to build the nation's first successful steamboat, with partner with Robert Livingston.
