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Frederick
McKinley Jones is the inventor of a reliable system
for refrigerating trucks that became the springboard for
launching the Thermo King Corporation. Frederick Jones
invented an automatic refrigeration system for long-haul
trucks in 1935 (a roof-mounted cooling device). It was a
reliable, mechanical refrigeration system for trucks and
railroad cars, which eliminated the risk of food spoilage
during long-distance shipping trips. The system was, in
turn, adapted to a variety of other common carriers, including
ships. Frederick Jones was issued the patent on July 12,
1940 (#2,303,857).
Invention Economic
Impact:
Frederick McKinley Jones
co-founded the Thermo King Corporation which grew to a multimillion
dollar business before being purchased by the Ingersoll
Rand Company. Ingersoll Rand
is a multi-billion dollar company employing thousands of
people world wide, (white men, women, black men, etc.).
His invention helped to facilitated
the development of international markets for food crops;
helped the creation of total industries such as frozen foods,
fast foods and container shipping; and altered consumers'
eating habits. All in all we are talking about a
multi-billion dollar world wide industry that his invention
had a part in helping to create. Very, very significant.
Frederick McKinley Jones was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on
May 17, 1893. Growing up as an orphan and not attending
school beyond grade eight, Jones was ultimately to become
one of the most prolific black inventors. His genius, as
well as his skill and knowledge of mechanical and electrical
devices, is evidenced by his 60 patents in divergent fields.
Forty of those patents were related to refrigeration.
Jones's contribution to the World War II effort includes
several timely and necessary inventions such as a portable
refrigeration unit, which was used to transport vitally
needed blood serum and medicines on the battlefields of
Europe; an air conditioning unit for military field hospitals
designed for the primary purpose of maintaining the temperature
of blood serum; and a portable x-ray unit.
Some of his other inventions were specifically designed
for the then-fledgling movie industry and include the one
of first processes that enabled movie projectors to play
back recorded sound talking pictures and a box-office device
that automatically distributed tickets and change to customers.
Despite his exploits in the movie industry, Jones was primarily
concerned with refrigeration. Recognized as an authority
in the field and elected to membership in the American Society
of Refrigeration Engineers, he also served as a consultant
for the Defense Department and the U.S. Bureau of Standards.
Jones founded a company jointly with his former boss in
the motion picture business, Joseph Numero. The company,
Thermo
King Corp. (initially called the U.S. Thermo Control
Company), a unit of Ingersoll Rand Company Limited is a
world leader in transport temperature control equipment
today, operating on a global scale with manufacturing plants
in various countries and accessing global markets.
In 1991, Frederick Jones and his partner were awarded the
National Medal of Technology posthumously. Jones died
of lung cancer on February 21, 1961 in Minneapolis and was
buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. He was inducted
into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame in 1977.
BEWARE!!
There are many lying (racist) web sites (even Wikipedia)
that claim he had nothing to do with the refrigeration trucking
industry. If these lying racist web sites were telling
the truth, why would a billion dollar company disagree with
them? Ingersoll
Rand-Thermo King-(NYSE,
IR)-- a company with a 13 billion market cap talks about
Frederick Jones on their web site, (about us)!! So, The
answer is simple; he did and the lying racists simply cannot
stand the thought of a black man having that kind of impact
on the American economy. The point is, his invention
was one of the first to made it reliable
and dependable!!
Other sites:
- Minnesota Historical Society
- Thermo
King Corp - (Then click "About us" web page)
- MIT
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