Frederick McKinley Jones Refrigerator Inventions

Frederick McKinley Jones patented more than 60 inventions in his lifetime and may be one of the most prolific Black inventors.  More than 40 of these patents were in the field of refrigeration. Jones is most famous for inventing an automatic, roof-mounted refrigeration system for long distance cartage trucks and railroad cars used to keep perishable cargo fresh.

Jones got the idea after a trucker told him a story of how he lost his entire cargo of chicken because he couldn’t reach his destination before the ice that had been packed with his load melted.

Jones also invented an air-conditioning unit for military field hospitals, a refrigerator for military field kitchens, a self-starting gas engine, a series of devices for movie projectors and box-office equipment that gave tickets and made change. Jones was posthumously awarded the National Medal of Technology in 1991 – the first Black inventor to ever receive such an honor.