Quick Facts
- Born:
- 1699, Campden, Gloucestershire, Eng.
- Died:
- 1758, London (aged 59)
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Jonathan Hulls
British inventor
Jonathan Hulls (born 1699, Campden, Gloucestershire, Eng.—died 1758, London) was a British inventor, possibly the first person ever to devise detailed plans for a steam-propelled ship. In 1736, Hulls obtained a patent for a machine to carry “ships and vessels out of and into any harbour, port, or river against wind and tide or in a calm.” This steam tugboat was illustrated in a pamphlet published in 1737. Its stern paddle wheel was to be driven by a Newcomen atmospheric engine. To obtain continuous rotation of the paddle wheel, Hulls proposed the use of ratchet wheels driven by ropes from the piston. Neither the patent nor the pamphlet, however, led to a practical trial of Hulls’s scheme.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica
Privacy Policy
and
Terms of Use.