Legend has it he’s descended from the patron saint of Florida, St. Willis of Carrier.
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—”Legend has it he’s descended from the patron saint of Florida, St. Willis of Carrier.”
Close.
I have a Dr friend with the same name, so I well know the patron saint of Florida.
He is Dr. John Gorrie.
“He first mechanically produced ice in 1844.[4] After 1845, Gorrie gave up his medical practice to pursue refrigeration products. By 1850 he was able to routinely produce ice the size of bricks.[5] On May 6, 1851, Gorrie was granted Patent No. 8080 for a machine to make ice. The original model of this machine and the scientific articles he wrote are at the Smithsonian Institution. “
“Florida placed the statue here in 1914–so Dr. Gorrie sweltered in the Capitol Building for 14 Washington summers before Willis Carrier brought relief. According to the Architect of the Capitol, Gorrie is “considered the father of refrigeration and air-conditioning.” We can imagine Carrier and his installation team paying proper respect to their forbear.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gorrie
“the Orlando Sentinel named Dr. Gorrie “Floridian of the Millenium.” That is, the newspaper declared he was the most important or influential person in Florida in a thousand years. “
“So for good or ill, Gorrie has made the modern Florida possible. This may be why the New Yorkers were out to honor Willis Carrier.”
If you made it this far...starting at ~25 minutes, from the Connections TV series James burns explains Dr Gorrie’s invention 1850 ... 1869 the Australians needed refrigeration to export meat... 1871 Chilled beer in Germany ...
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x68uf3j
Thank you!
I had not looked at this topic in years and enjoyed seeing it again.
https://robertallisonhistory.wordpress.com/2016/08/12/who-invented-the-air-conditioner/