what did john fitch invent.
John Fitch and his Steamboat. John Fitch: Granted a U.S. Patent for the Steamboat in 1791. History & Culture. The era of the steamboat began in America in 1787 when John Fitch (1743-1798) made the first successful trial of a steamboat on the Delaware River, in the presence of members of the Constitutional Convention. Background. Fitch was born in 1743 in Connecticut. His mother died when he was four; his father was harsh and rigid.