Invention Timeline - Henry Eckford, Scotch-American Shipbuilder; During the War of 1812, He Constructed a Fleet of Warships for Lake Erie
b. March 12, 1775 and d. November 12, 1832
Scotch-American shipbuilder. Made important improvements in the building of ships; built the “Robert Fulton,” the first successful ocean-going steamboat, and during the war of 1812, he constructed a fleet of warships for Lake Erie in a remarkable short time.
That holds, in spite o’ knock an’ scale, o’ friction, waste an’
slip,
An’ by that light-now, mark my words we’ll build the perfect
Ship.
I’ll never last to judge her lines to take her curve-not I.
But I ha’ lived an’ I ha’ worked. All thanks to Thee, Most
High!
An’ I ha’ done what I ha’ done-judge thou if ill or well-
Always they Grace preventin’ me . . . Losh! Yon’s the
”Stand by” bell.
Pilot so soon! His flare it is. The mornin’ watch is set.
Well, God be thanked, as I was saying! I’m no Pelagian yet.
—The Seven Seas: Rudyard Kipling
If the invention of the Ship was thought so noble,
which carrieth riches and commodities from place
to place, and consociateth the most remote regions
in participation of their fruits, how much more are
letters to be magnified, which, as Ships, pass through
the vast Seas of time, and make ages so distant to
participate of the wisdom, illuminations, and inventions,
the one of the other!
—On the Proficience and Advancement of Learning: Bacon
1783—Ships were first copper-bottomed.
