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Because they wereso expensive, his steamboats wereunsuccessfu l. The first successfu l steamboatwas the Clermont, which was built byAmerican inventor Robert Fulton in 1807.The Clermont was the combinedeffort of Fulton and Robert Livingston.Fulton was born in Lancaster County,Pennsylvania. By the age of 17, he wasworking as a painter in Philadelphia.
1 John Stevens launched the Phoenix, competing with John Livingston. 2  On April 11the Legislature extended the Livingston-Fulton monopoly five years for every additional steamboat they put in the water, up to 30 years. ( 3 Laws of 1808, Chapter 225).