STEVENS, JOHN

John Stevens (1749–1838) was an engineer and inventor who was one of the earliest U.S. experimenters with steamboats. He built his career on promoting better transportation, not only with steamboats but also with railroads. Stevens built the first steam-powered locomotive in the United States. He firmly believed that efficient transportation on both land and water would be the main source of progress and prosperity for the country.

John Stevens was born to a wealthy family in New York in 1749. His father was a merchant and ship owner who was also politically active. Stevens was raised in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and educated in small schools devoted to business training. He graduated from King's college (now Columbia University) in 1768 and then studied law. Three years later Stevens began working as a practicing attorney for the royal governor of New York. He soon discovered that he was more interested in politics than law and he became treasurer of New Jersey during the American Revolution (1775–1783). He rose to the rank of colonel through his fundraising efforts for the patriot cause.

In 1782 John Stevens married. Two years later the couple bought a large estate on the west side of the Hudson River, in what is now Hoboken, New Jersey. It was there that Stevens became fascinated with the idea of steam-powered transportation. Stevens bought a ferry service between Hoboken and New York and sought to improve it with steam-powered boats. He was inspired by John Fitch's steamboat, which ran along the Delaware River in 1788. At age forty Stevens taught himself the engineering science behind steam power. Soon he was able to draw his own designs for boilers and engines. Stevens then petitioned the New York legislature to grant him the exclusive privilege of steam navigation in the state, but he was unsuccessful. He was also unsuccessful in several other states, so he instead turned to his political connections in Congress and petitioned for the first federal patent laws in 1790. In August, 1791, Stevens was awarded a patent for improving steam machinery.

In 1797 Stevens joined his college friend Nicholas I. Roosevelt, and his brother-in-law Robert R. Livingston, in a partnership to build and operate steamboats. The partners disagreed over technical matters, such as the proper way to apply steam and they never built a successful boat together. In 1804 Stevens did manage to build a prototype, however, with the help of his sons. The boat, called Little Juliana, used a new high-pressure steam engine and two screw propellers. Meanwhile, Stevens' brother-in-law Livingston had purchased a temporary exclusive contract for steamboats on the Hudson River. Livingston believed that Stevens' boat did not meet the contract's speed requirements, so he instead convinced inventor Robert Fulton (1765–1815) to produce his five-mile-an-hour steamboat in the United States. Stevens was offended by Livingston's actions and he refused a place in the partnership of Fulton's future steamboat. In 1807 Fulton's boat, the Clermont, made its historical round trip voyage from New York to Albany.

Soon afterwards Stevens launched his first ocean-going, 100-foot steamboat called the Phoenix. In June of 1809 his son, Robert Livingston Stevens, captained the boat on its maiden voyage to Philadelphia. Because Fulton monopolized the use of the Hudson River, Stevens operated a ferry service on the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Trenton.

Stevens decided to pursue other transportation interests and around 1810 handed his steamboat interests over to his sons, who had also become capable and respected engineers. He turned his attention to adapting steam technology to the railroad, educating Congress on the advantages of the railroad over canals. Stevens succeeded in persuading Congress to pass the first U.S. railway act, which then led to the formation of companies to construct railroads, including a line from the Delaware to the Raritan River. Stevens also invented and constructed the first steam locomotive built in the United States. In 1825 he ran the experimental locomotive on a circular track on his estate in Hoboken.

Stevens dedicated his life to improving transportation and educating others about the benefits of efficient modes of transportation. He became a leader in promoting the utility of steam railroads in the United States. He also explored other transportation improvements before his death in 1838. For example, he designed a bridge and underwater tunnel from Hoboken to New York, and he also planned an elevated railroad system for New York City.

STEVENS, JOHN

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