Robert Fulton was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on November 4, 1706.  He was a white man who painted pictures.  He bought a farm in Hopewell Township. 
     Robert went to a strict Quaker school and went to England to study with artist Benjamin West. 
     His job was to make steamboats.  He wanted to make a steamboat that could go to war.   His other hobby was making mechanical devices.   
     He married Harriet Livingston and she bore four children.
     Robert invented the first engine powered commercial steamboat.  It was made in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  It was used for war and transportation.  Robert L. Livingston asked Robert Fulton. “ If I give you money, could you build me a steamboat?”
     It took one year to build the steamboat. The first steamboat’s hull was not strong enough to hold the huge engine.  Robert got a lighter watt engine from England.   He got the steel and iron for the hull and deck from a mining company.  Robert had help from Robert R. Livingston to pay for materials.   
    The steamboat made Robert wealthy but not that famous.  A few companies bought it and it was advertised by riding it.  Many people thought that the steamboat would not work but it did. The first successful steamship that Robert made went from New York City to Albany at five mph.                                        
        Robert Fulton died in 1815 in New York.  Robert Fulton died from the flu after trying to save a friend. There were hundreds of people at his funeral.