Fulton's paddleboat engine. 1848 artwork showing the design of the engine that was used to power the North River Steamboat - the first vessel to demonstrate the viability of using steam propulsion for commercial river transportation and widely regarded as the world's first commercially successful steamboat. Built in 1807 by the wealthy investor and politician Robert Livingston and inventor and entrepreneur Robert Fulton, it operated on the Hudson River (previously known as the North River) between New York and Albany.