This issue commemorates the 200th anniversary of the birth of the inventor of the first successful commercial steamship, the Clermont. Fulton returned to America in 1806 and resumed work on a steamboat with Livingston. While others had invented steamboats before him, they were often considered dangerous and nothing more than a novelty. Fulton believed it could prove to be a successful business venture, and built a 150-foot-long ship that would make him famous. Critics dubbed the boat “Fulton’s Folly,” believing it wouldn’t make the trip.