science · 14 March 1830 · 194 years ago
death
Died 14 Mar 1830 at age 62 (born 7 Apr 1767).
Scottish engineer who began Europe's first successful steamship service, with his paddle steamboat, Comet, on the River Clyde in Scotland. In 1790, at age 23, he was a carpenter at Glasgow. He became interested in steam navigation, and corresponded with Robert Fulton, who later began the world's first commercial steamboat service in New York (17 Aug 1807). In 1811, Bell commissioned a 30-ton vessel from John Wood, a Port Glasgow shipbuilder, and it was fitted with a three horsepower Boulton & Watt steam engine. It was delivered on 6 Aug 1812, to a central Glasgow quay. Commercial service began two days later, travelling 24 miles between there and Greenock in under five hours. By 1819, it offered a four-day journey to Fort William. In 1820, it wrecked in strong currents near Oban.
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