John Fitch (inventor)

John Fitch ( born January 21, 1743 in East Windsor, Connecticut; † July 2, 1798 in Bardstown, Kentucky ) was an American inventor, clockmaker, entrepreneur and engineer.

Fitch undertook since 1785, various attempts, the performance of a steam engine for marine propulsion to nutzen.1786 designed and tested it in the vicinity of Philadelphia, the first Unserviceable steam ship, a ten-meter- long vehicle with a Heckschaufelrad. As public recognition he received a monopoly right to build steamships in four U.S. states. Because of the weak steam engine, the speed was too low and the ship badly controlled, economically a failure. After another defeat with a rudder drive him reach 1787 in the presence of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington on the Delaware successful experiments with the screw -driven steamship Perseverance ( water displacement 9 tons / speed 6 km / h upstream). This ship was an approximately regular passenger and freight traffic operated in 1790 between Philadelphia and Trenton, so the functionality was proved. The capacity was 30 persons, the driving performance of a total of more than 1000 kilometers. Since it was not possible Fitch, other donors to win in Europe, he had to stop his work.