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 –
History of the steam engine weight and adding a weight around the shaft. This significantly improved speed control. Porter's governor became the leading type by 1880. The efficiency of the Porter-Allen engine was good, but not equal to the Corliss engine. The uniflow engine was the most efficient type of high-pressure engine. It was invented in 1911 and was used in ships, but was displaced by steam turbines and later marine diesel engines. History of the steam engine The first recorded rudimentary steam engine was the aeolipile described by Heron of Alexandria in 1st-century Roman Egypt. Several steam-powered devices were later experimented with or proposed,