'Fulton's Folly' Steamed Up the Hudson on this Day in 1807

Today, Wired magazine, in their daily feature, “This Day in Tech,” wrote a piece on Robert Fulton’s steamboat, the Clermont, and its journey from New York City to Albany via the Hudson River.

Robert Fulton’s Clermont. Photo: The Hudson River Maritime Museum.

1807: Robert Fulton’s steamboat Clermont leaves New York harbor for a trip up the Hudson River to Albany, New York. It is carrying paying passengers, marking the first commercial use of an invention that has more detractors than defenders.

Fulton didn’t invent the steamboat, as he is often credited with doing, but he was the first to make a commercial success with this odd, somewhat ungainly vessel. Continue reading on Wired.com…

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