1751-1832

French engineer who in 1783 launched the first experimentally successful steam-powered boat. Equipped with a double ratchet mechanism that produced continuous rotation of the paddle wheels, Jouffroy d'Abbans's vessel, the Pyroscaphe, ran against the current of the Saône River for 15 minutes. Jouffroy d'Abbans's success was marred by failure, however, when his patent was indefinitely delayed and he abandoned his experiments. In 1787 American Robert Fulton developed a more successful steamboat. Although he gave much credit to Jouffroy d'Abbans, the French inventor died bitter and forgotten.