Home › S › Shreve, Henry Miller

Shreve, Henry Miller

inventor, born Oct. 21, 1785, in Burlington county, N. J. In 1815 he ascended the Mississippi to Louisville in the Enterprise, the first steam vessel that ever performed that voyage, and subsequently he built the Washington on plan of his own invention, with improvements that made it superior to Robert Fulton's boat.

In 1817 his vessel made its first trip a laden with passengers and freight, and demonstrated its superiority. When its success was thoroughly shown, Fulton and his associates, having the exclusive right to navigate all vessels propelled by fire and steam in the rivers of said territory, entered suit against him and seized his boats; but the case was decided in his favor. In 1826 he was appointed superintendent of western river improvements, which place he held until 1841. He died March 6, 1854, in St. Louis, Mo.