Mike Church

This Day In Founders History – 17 August

On this day in 1807, Robert Fulton’s North River Steamboat started on its first successful trip up the Hudson River from New York City to Albany. Robert Livingston held the exclusive right to navigate on the Hudson and partnered with Fulton. The boat was also known as the Clermont, after the Hudson River home of Livingston, and also referred to by some as Fulton’s Folly as most believed it was a disaster waiting to happen. The roundtrip of 150 miles took 32 hours. The vessel went on to provide regular passenger service on the Hudson.

One notable birthday on this day in history in 1786, that of David “Davy” Crockett (Go ahead and sing it, “King of the Wild Frontier.”) Crockett grew up in Tennessee and earned a reputation for his hunting and storytelling. He served in the Lawrence County, Tennessee militia and later was elected to the Tennessee legislature. He went on to serve as a U.S. Representative. Crockett moved to what is now Texas and fought at the Battle of the Alamo, where he was killed. Of course, today many of us know him best for the larger-than-life portrayals of him on TV and the big screen, and that famous coonskin cap.