The Contrary Pace of Innovation — Frédéric Sauvage

No one knew better than Pierre Louis Frédéric Sauvage that innovation cannot be rushed, even when its eventual course appears clear. Sauvage has perhaps the greatest claim, among several competitors, to the invention of the ships’ propeller.

The first steamships built in the mid-18th century used cumbersome paddlewheels, which propel the ship forward essentially by crawling across the surface of the water. In contrast, a propeller draws itself through the water just as a screw draws itself into a piece of wood.

The Swiss physicist Daniel Bernoulli showed that, in theory, the propeller is the more efficient machine; however it took nearly a century before an inventor created a practical prototype. That inventor was Frédéric Sauvage.

Sauvage came from a family of shipbuilders. He grew up in Boulogne-sur-Mer, on the northwest coast of France, and inherited the family shipyard. Competition at a time in which shipbuilders were struggling to incorporate the new technologies of iron and steam into existing ship designs that had evolved in the era of wooden ships and wind propulsion drove Sauvage from the business.

Sauvage found success as the operator of a marble quarry by inventing new stone-cutting machines that allowed him to increase production and lower costs. However, the challenges of how to propel a ship using the steam engine never left his mind.

Sauvage based his propellor design on the way fish move their tails for propulsion. For demonstration purposes, he mounted a prototype under the stern of a small boat, however things did not go well when he arranged a demonstration for the French navy in Paris. A favorable opinion by the navy was critical for getting ship builders interested in buying his invention.

A deputy minister was interested enough to inquire, “Why don’t you mount the propeller under the bow of the boat, instead?” Sauvage replied curtly, “For the same reason that a fish does not have its tail attached to its head,” showing a fatal lack of marketing acumen on the part of the inventor.

Ultimately, Sauvage failed to profit from his invention of the propellor. The French navy feigned disinterest. And, French ship builders persisted in building steam ships driven by paddle wheels until 1852. By that time, Sauvage’s patent had expired, and an English engineer was able to profit by selling an identical design.

Frédéric Sauvage died penniless and insane, showing that the fortunes of even the most insightful and talented engineers can be undone by poor timing, the power of vested interests, and market forces beyond reckoning. Sauvage’s accomplishment was recognized after his death by being one of the 72 engineers and scientists named on the Eiffel Tower.