First iron steamship launched

Historical Context Note

Litencyc Editors (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.06: English Writing and Culture of the Romantic Period, 1789-1837.
Vol. editors: Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Daniel Robinson (Widener University)

Domains

Steam power

Dates

Date of occurrence 1820

Places

United Kingdom (Location)

Resources

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Since James Watt had patented his improved version of the steam engine in 1769, steam had come to seem the technology of the future, with potential to be adapted to scenarios from mining pumps to shipping. The first steamship to be built with an iron hull was commissioned by French ironmonger Charles Napier and his son, and built at the Horseley ironworks in Staffordshire, England. The resulting ship, the

Aaron Manby

, was named after the owner of these ironworks. It crossed the English Channel in June 1822, and was based in France for the rest of its life. It was to be another two decades before Isambard Kingdom Brunel's SS

Great Britain

became the first ship to combine the iron hull with a screw propeller, in an ocean-going ship that crossed the Atlantic.

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131 words

Citation: Editors, Litencyc. "First iron steamship launched". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 August 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=4563, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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