Daniel French

Who was Daniel French?

Daniel French, a "Yankee" inventor, was born in Berlin, Connecticut. From an early age French strove to become a "mechanician," an artisan trained in the theory of mechanics and skilled in the working of metals at increasing levels of precision. His friend Oliver Evans, an accomplished engineer, described French as an "original and ingenious inventor." French's most significant invention was the horizontally mounted, high-pressure, non-condensing, directly connected steam engine for mills, boats, etc. French was awarded a patent for his steam engine in 1809. This type of engine became standard on the western steamboat.

In 1807 Robert Fulton placed on the Hudson River the steamboat North River which was powered by a low pressure Boulton and Watt steam engine. The heavy and inherently inefficient engine required an increase in the size, and hence the weight, of the steam cylinder for an increase in power. Mounting the cylinder vertically, Fulton "invented" a complex series of levers and cranks to transmit the power of the piston to each paddle wheel crank. Two paddle wheels, one on each side, were mounted midway between the bow and the stern.