2771126 The First Steamboat in the World, 22nd August 1787 ( by American School, (18th century); 14.6x12.6 cm; Free Library of Philadelphia; (add.info.: Halftone reproduction of illustration shows the trial trip of the first steamboat ever built. Crowds gather to witness the historic event which took place on August 22, 1787, on the Delaware River. Although not a Philadelphian, John Fitch, the inventor of the boat, had spent some time in the city as a young man. Shows the unique arrangement of paddles by which it was propelled. On one of its first trips it proceeded as far as Burlington when the boiler burst. It was floated back to the city and a new boiler installed.. It then went to Trenton, attaining a speed of eight miles an hour.); 穢 Free Library of Philadelphia .