The Steamboat...

While the concept of a steam powered vessel was not new, it was the ingenuity and perseverance of Robert Fulton and Chancellor Robert R. Livingston that would bring the first vessel to the Hudson and forever change the face of boating on the river.
Fascinated by mechanics at a young age, Fulton dabbled in the design of various machines such as a mill for cutting marble. His more interesting designs, however, followed a maritime theme. He made designs of various crafts, including submarines, and a vessel with a salmon tail-inspired propulsion system. While none of these designs ever produced a viable prototype, it was his interest in canals that brought him to France, where he met Livingston, who was serving as America's minister to France.
Both Fulton and Livingston had interest in steamboats, and each had dabbled with designs prior to the establishment of their formal partnership in 1806. With Livingston handling the financial and political business, and Fulton creating the first prototype vessel, they formed a seemingly unstoppable force. In 1798, Livingston had convinced the New York state legislature to give him a "exclusive rights to operate steamboats on the Hudson River," provided he manufacture a craft that could meet what the legislature believed to be an impractical set of requirements.
The vessel was completed in 1807, having survived both financial strain and attempted sabotage by local boatmen threatened by what they saw as the end of their era. With their monopoly in place, Fulton and Livingston's steamboat entered regular service on the Hudson River later that year, traveling regularly between New York and Albany. The steamboat forever changed the concept of maritime transportation, in that its travel time between ports could be roughly predicted, unlike sail powered vessels. By establishing a scheduled service, vast numbers of people were able to access the region and move efficiently and predictably between it's key ports.
Not suprisingly, many challenged the monopoly as Fulton and Livingston's enterprise grew, amounting to a series of legal actions that would continue long after their deaths. While neither Fulton or Livingston ever achieved the true success they both lusted for, their actions and achievements paved the way for numerous entrepreneurs and the future of the transportation industry as a whole.

Information gathered from Tom Lewis's "The Hudson: A History"