Robert Fulton the "Nautilus", the first practical submarine in history. Fulton is also credited with inventing some of the world's earliest naval torpedoes for use by the British Royal Navy. Fulton became interested in steam engines and the idea of steamboats in 1777 when he was around age 12 and visited state delegate William Henry of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who was interested in this topic. Henry had learned about inventor James Watt and his Watt steam engine on an earlier visit to England. Robert Fulton was born on a farm in Little Britain, Pennsylvania, on November 14, 1765. He had three sisters –
First video-recording from a submarine First video-recording from a submarine The first successful video-recording from a non-military submarine was made in May 1969. The purpose of the recording was to document the inspection and condition of an offshore oil storage unit located in of water off the Louisiana coast. During the mid-1960s and early 1970s, there was widespread interest in the United States in the topic of oceanography. Several major firms built small research submarines to explore the oceans. The major subs were "Deep Star 4000", designed by Jacques Cousteau and built by Westinghouse Electric Company; "Aluminaut", the first aluminum sub which was built by