henry miller shreve (october 21, 1785 â march 6, 1851) was the american inventor and steamboat captain who opened the mississippi, ohio and red rivers to steamboat navigation. shreveport, louisiana, is named in his honor. shreve was also instrumental in breaking the fulton-livingston monopoly on steamboat traffic on the lower mississippi. he was the first riverboat captain to travel the ohio and mississippi rivers to new orleans and back, as well as the first to bring a keelboat from the ohio river up the mississippi to the fever river in illinois.lloyd hawthorne, "captain henry miller shreve: master of the red," north louisiana history, vol. 2, no. 1 (fall 1970), pp. 1-6 shreve also made significant improvements to the steamboat and the steam engine, such as separate boilers to power side paddlewheels independently, horizontal cylinders, and multiple decks to allow for passengers and entertainment. ==early life== shreve was born to israel shreve, a quaker who had served with honor in the american revolution,in 1979, the historian william y. thompson wrote a biography of israel shreve, israel shreve: revolutionary war officer. and the former mary cokely at mount pleasant, the family homestead near columbus in mansfield township, burlington county, new jersey. on july 7, 1788, the shreves left new jersey for their new home on property owned by george washington in fayette county, pennsylvania. young henry's new home was close to the youghiogheny river near the present day borough of perryopolis.ellis, p. 710-711 after his father's death in 1799, shreve served on several riverboats to help support his family. after purchasing his own boat shreve began trading between brownsville, pennsylvania, where he resided, and ports as far away as new orleans. on a voyage in 1814, shreve's barge was registered at ne
1785_births 1851_deaths American_inventors American_people_of_the_War_of_1812 American_transportation_businesspeople Burials_at_Bellefontaine_Cemetery History_of_Shreveport,_Louisiana People_from_Fayette_County,_Pennsylvania People_from_Mansfield_Township,_Burlington_County,_New_Jersey People_from_St._Louis,_Missouri