1771 - enlisted in the infantry regiment of Bourbon. 1772 - imprisoned near Cannes for numerous infractions, where he became interested in steam locomotion for ships. 1775 - went to Paris to study the Watt steam-engine. 1776 - constructed an experimental boat, and ran it on the River Doubs. 1781 - after the promise of help from the French government, began the construction of the Pyroscaphe at Lyons. 1783 - at a public trial, the Pyroscaphe ran up the Saône at Lyons against the current with a speed of six miles per hour, in the presence of representative scientific men and thousands of enthusiastic spectators. 1831 - following unsuccessful attempts to patent his invention, utterly discouraged and poor, he retired to the Invalides, the home of old soldiers where he died of cholera.