Refrigeration

From 1000 BC to 1800 AD, refrigeration was dependent on harvesting ice where available and keeping it underground.

William Cullen at the University of Glasgow demonstrated the first artificial refrigeration system in the year 1748. However, he never used his discovery for practical purposes.

In 1805, US inventor Oliver Evans, designed the first refrigeration machine that didn't use liquid and instead used vapor to cool.

In 1835, French chemist Charles Thilorier observed liquid carbon dioxide in a metal canister, watching it evaporate. After evaporation, he noticed a solid block of dry ice at the bottom of the container.

In 1844, an American physician, John Gorrie, built a refrigerator based on Oliver Evans' design to make ice to cool the air for his yellow fever patients. His plans date back to 1842, making him one of the founding fathers of the refrigerator. He also established the first artificial method of producing ice.

Ice producing plants operated in cities and Ice was delivered to homes daily before homes were hooked up to electrical power and bought refrigerators.

Home refrigerators began to replace the old-fashioned ice box, but the early models did not have freezer compartments.

By the 1920s refrigerators in the home became widespread in the West. Freezer compartments and ice cube trays were gradually added to new refrigerator models so that people could make ice cubes at home.

Electricity allowed the addition to electrical appliances in homes, including refrigerators in the 1920s. Refrigeration allowed for air conditioning in the 1950s.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader