Rumsey, James

1743 – He was born this year in Cecil County, Maryland, at the head of the Bohemia River.

1787 – He exhibited a boat propelled by machinery in this year on the Potomac River at what is now Shepherdstown, West Virginia, before a crowd of local notables, including Horatio Gates.

1788 - After moving to England in this year, Rumsey was able to take out four patents before his death.

1791 - His Patent has all the pumps, motors and hydraulic cylinders of fluid power engineering. By September of 1792 he had arrived at a true water turbine, almost 40 years before it would be next invented in France.

1792 – However, he died in December of this year; he did not live long enough to feature it in a patent.