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 –
Down to the Sea in Ships (1949 film) However it is First Mate Lunceford (Richard Widmark) who teaches him about life. Down to the Sea in Ships (1949 film) Down to the Sea in Ships is a 1949 seafaring drama directed by Henry Hathaway, starring Richard Widmark and Lionel Barrymore. The supporting cast includes Dean Stockwell, Cecil Kellaway, Gene Lockhart, and John McIntire. This was a remake of the silent film version, directed by Elmer Clifton and starring Marguerite Courtot, Raymond McKee and Clara Bow. Whaling ship captain Bering Joy (Lionel Barrymore) takes his grandson Jed (Dean Stockwell) on a whaling expedition in order to teach the young