Answer:
The correct answer is B. Robert Fulton built the first successful steamboat.
Explanation:
Robert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor. In England, he began to practice engineering, in particular steam engines, and made numerous inventions regarding duct construction. In 1793 he made a first plan to operate steamboats. After 1797, Fulton in Paris continued his studies and experiments. There he proposed, among other things, an underwater boat, called Nautilus, which was armed with blasting balls, which he called "torpedoes". The proposal was offered to both the French and English government, but was rejected by them. Even the steamboat which he built and which, in 1803, with great success made his test tour of Seine, attracted little notice among the Parisians.
Fulton, who entered into a company with the American envoy in Paris, moved in 1806 to New York, where in 1807 he built the first steamboat, which came into practical use and yielded some return. This steamboat, Clermont, which was 42.67 meters long and had a machine of 20 horsepower, sailed, among other things, on the Hudson River between New York and Albany. The steamboat trade in New York, on which Fulton was first granted exclusive privilege, soon spread to the great American rivers and greatly accelerated the colonization and development of the surrounding states.
