SS Savannah Leaves Port: First Steamship to Cross the Atlantic
The engine ran for just 80 hours of the 633-hour crossing. Captain Moses Rogers couldn't find a single passenger willing to book passage on his experimental steamship—they thought it would explode. So the SS Savannah sailed with cargo and crew only, burning through its coal and paddle-wheeling across the Atlantic when wind failed. British coast guard spotted the smoke, assumed the ship was on fire, sent a cutter to rescue it. The first steam-powered Atlantic crossing was actually 90% sail. Rogers proved it could be done, then promptly went bankrupt trying to sell the ship.
May 22, 1819
207 years ago
Key Figures & Places
United States
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Atlantic Ocean
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Savannah, Georgia
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steamship
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Liverpool
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SS Savannah
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Liverpool, England
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June 20
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SS Savannah
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Savannah, Georgia
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Steamship
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Georgia (U.S. state)
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Raddampfer
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Segelschiff
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Atlantic Ocean
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