Frederick McKinley Jones

Jones was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on May 17, 1893, to an Irish father and African-American mother. Little is known about his mother who left his life when Jones was a child. His father, John Jones, was a railroad worker who struggled to raise him on his own. Jones was raised by a Catholic priest, Father Ryan, at a rectory in Cincinnati, Ohio, near Covington. Father Ryan took in Jones around the age of seven, and two years later, John Jones died. Jones left school at age 11 after the sixth grade. == Career ==

Mechanical engineer In 1912, Jones moved to Hallock, Minnesota, where he worked as a mechanic on a farm. Jones' proximity to Hill and the railroad facilitated his education in electricity and steam locomotive engines. He later upgraded his license to the highest grade. Audiovisual work After military service in World War I, Jones returned to Hallock where he worked as a mechanic while learning about electronics. He also invented a device to combine sound with motion pictures. This attracted the attention of local entrepreneur Joseph A. Numero of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Chilled air was transported to the inside of the trailer via refrigerant tubing. In 1941, Jones completed development of the Model C, which was mounted to the front of the truck, was compact, light, and withstood road travel vibrations. In 1939, Jones filed for a patent for the Model A and received a patent for it on July 12, 1949. Numero sold his movie sound equipment business to RCA and formed a new company in partnership with Jones, the U.S. Thermo Control Company (later the Thermo King Corporation) which became a $3 million business by 1949. Model C units were initially manufactured for military use, but following the war the units became available for commercial use as well. Other inventions Jones also developed a portable x-ray machine. He also developed an early prototype of a snowmobile called a "snow machine" that attached skis to the undercarriage of an airplane fuselage and attached a propeller, and a sound track synchroniser (later selling the patent to RCA). An early radio service for local doctors were also counted among his inventions. ==Distinctions and honors==

During his life, Jones was awarded 61 patents. • In 1944, Jones became the first African-American to become a member of the American Society of Refrigeration Engineers. • In 1977, he was posthumously inducted into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame. • In 2007, Jones was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, which honored him as a "Visionary Veteran." • In the March 2009 issue of Heavy Duty Truck magazine, editor Tom Berg dubbed Jones "The King of Cool", and wrote that his "technological breakthrough redefined the global marketplace, with cultural reverberations felt from the world's largest cities to its most isolated villages." == Death ==

On February 21, 1961, Jones died of lung cancer at age 67 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, predeceasing his wife, Lucille. ==Patents==

• was issued on June 27, 1939 – Ticket dispensing machine. • was issued on April 28, 1942 – Design for air conditioning unit. • was issued on December 14, 1943 – Removable cooling units for compartments. • was issued on December 21, 1943 – Means for automatically stopping and starting gas engines. • was issued on May 29, 1945 – Two-cycle gas engine. • was issued on March 11, 1947 – Two-cycle gas engine. • was issued on July 12, 1949 – Automatic refrigeration system for long-haul trucks. • was issued on July 12, 1949 – Starter generator. • was issued on July 12, 1949 – Means operated by a starter generator for cooling a gas engine. • was issued on July 26, 1949 – Means for thermostatically operating gas engines. • was issued on April 18, 1950 – Rotary compressor. • was issued on May 23, 1950 – System for controlling operation of refrigeration units. • was issued on July 4, 1950 – Design for air conditioning unit. • was issued on September 26, 1950 – Engine actuated ventilating system. • was issued on October 24, 1950 – Apparatus for heating or cooling atmosphere within an enclosure. • was issued on December 26, 1950 – Prefabricated refrigerator construction. • was issued on January 8, 1952 – Refrigeration control device. • was issued on January 19, 1954 – Methods and means of defrosting a cold diffuser. • was issued on December 7, 1954 – Method and means for air conditioning. • was issued on February 12, 1957 – Method and means for preserving perishable foodstuffs in transit. • was issued on September 2, 1958 – Control device for internal combustion engine. • was issued on February 23, 1960 – Thermostat and temperature control system. == References ==