1807    Robert Fulton's first American steamboat leaves New York City for Albany, New York on the Hudson River, inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.

1809    Robert Fulton files a patent for improvements to steamboat navigation

1811    The first steamboat to sail the Mississippi River arrives in New Orléans, Louisiana.

1849    Regular steamboat service from the west to the east coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS ''California'' in San Francisco Bay, 4 months 22 days after leaving New York Harbor.

1854    The San Francisco steamer sinks, killing 300 people.

1865    The steamboat ''Sultana'', carrying 2,400 passengers, explodes and sinks in the Mississippi River, killing 1,700, most of whom are Union survivors of the Andersonville and Cahaba Prisons.

1962    The Old Bay Line, the last overnight steamboat service in the United States, goes out of business.