Frederick McKinley Jones

Frederick McKinley Jones was born on 17 May 1893 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was orphaned young, raised largely by a Catholic priest before leaving school at age eleven and teaching himself mechanical engineering through hands-on work as an automobile mechanic and self-directed reading — an entirely self-taught technical education.

Jones served in the US Army during World War I, gaining further technical experience, and afterward worked extensively in Minnesota repairing farm equipment and developing his own mechanical innovations, including improvements to movie theatre sound equipment during the transition from silent films to talkies.

In 1935 Jones developed and patented a practical, reliable automatic refrigeration system suitable for mounting on trucks, solving the technical challenge of maintaining consistent cold temperatures during transport over rough roads and vibration. He co-founded Thermo King Corporation with businessman Joseph Numero in 1938, and the technology proved transformative for the American food industry, enabling perishable goods to be transported reliably over long distances — and later proved crucial during World War II, enabling safe transport of blood, medicine and food to military personnel overseas. He died in 1961 having held over 60 patents, and in 1991 was posthumously awarded the National Medal of Technology, becoming the first Black inventor to receive the honour.