Jean-Antoine Honoré (1758-1843)

He was born in Paris and was trained for the priesthood. Said to have become friends with the Marquis de Lafayette and enthused by America's struggle for independence, he emigrated to Baltimore in 1781. In 1806, predicting that Louisville would become a major center of influence, he moved there and operated the first steamboat service between Louisville and New Orleans. He also became a wholesale hardware merchant and was among those who in 1811 funded the construction of the first Catholic cathedral at 10th and Main in Louisville, the Cathedral of Assumption.