Theyâre developing a more regionalized distribution strategy focused on: 1  Increasing the number of shipping points. 2  Reducing the length of hauls. 3  Driving smaller average shipment sizes. 4  Gaining better inventory visibility including visibility into shipments in transit or at consolidators.
John Fitch and his Steamboat. John Fitch: Granted a U.S. Patent for the Steamboat in 1791. History & Culture. The era of the steamboat began in America in 1787 when John Fitch (1743-1798) made the first successful trial of a steamboat on the Delaware River, in the presence of members of the Constitutional Convention. Background. Fitch was born in 1743 in Connecticut. His mother died when he was four; his father was harsh and rigid.
On August 26, 1791, John Fitch was granted a United States patent for the steamboat. He went on to build a larger steamboat which carried passengers and freight between Philadelphia and Burlington, New Jersey. Fitch was granted his patent after a battle with James Rumsey over claims to the invention. Both men invented similiar inventions. John Fitch constructed four different steamboats between 1785 and 1796 that successfully plied rivers and lakes and demonstrated, in part, the feasibility of using steam for water locomotion.