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 Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was not the inventor of the steamboat, but he was the first to develop its commercial application. After some experiments on the Seine in Paris, that success came on the Hudson River.
Early Life
Robert Fulton was born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in 1765. At the ago of 12, he met William Henry of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who had put a steam engine in a boat in 1763 – two years before Fulton was born – though the boat sank.
When he came of age in 1786, Fulton went to England study painting with Benjamin West. There he met James Rumsey, an inventor from Virginia who had run a steam boat in Shepherdstown, (West) Virginia, in 1786 and again on December 3, 1787.
As early as 1793 Fulton proposed plans for steam vessels to both the United States and the British Governments, and in England he met the Duke of Bridgewater, whose canal would shortly be used for trials of a steam tug, and who later ordered steam tugs from William Symington. Symington had successfully tried steamboats in 1788, and it seems probable that Fulton would have been well aware of these developments.
Later Years
In 1797, Fulton went to France (where the Marquis Claude de Jouffroy had made a working paddle steamer in 1783) and commenced experimenting with submarine torpedoes and torpedo boats. In that year he met Robert Livingston, United States Ambassador (whose niece Harriet Livingston he married; they had four children; Robert, Juila, Mary, and Cornelia), and they decided to build a steamboat to try out on the Seine. Fulton experimented with the water resistance of hull shapes, made drawings and models and had a steamboat constructed. At the first trial it sank, but the hull was rebuilt and strengthened, and on August 9, 1803, this boat steamed up the River Seine. The boat was 66 feet (20.1 m) long, 8 feet (2.4 m) beam and made between 3–4 mph (5–6 km/h) against the current.
 In 1807, Fulton and Livingston built the first commercial steamboat, the North River Steamboat (later known as the Clermont), which carried passengers between New York City and Albany, New York.
Commercial steamboating on the Hudson River began with Fulton´s successful steamboat trip from New York to Albany on August 14th, 1807. This voyage was the first of any significant distance made by a steamboat. Immediately following this demonstration, Fulton and Livingston started commercial steamboat service on the Hudson River between New York City and Albany.
Fulton's steamboat was built on the East River at the ship yards of Charles Brownne. After disappointments and delays, Fulton left New York on his steamboat for Albany on August 17, 1807. He made the trip in thirty-two hours and successfully demonstrated to the world the possibilities of steam navigation.
Livingston persuaded the New York State Legislature to give him the exclusive privilege of "navigating all boats that might be propelled by steam, on all waters within the territory or jurisdiction of the State, for the term of twenty years." Livingston and Fulton successfully exploited this monopoly until it was struck down by a federal court in 1824.
Fulton is buried at the Trinity Church Cemetery in New York City alongside other famous Americans such as Alexander Hamilton.
Sources: Wikipedia, Hudson River Maritime Museum
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