Who is frederick mckinley jones

After he returned home he worked as a garage mechanic, and with this experience, he developed a self-starting gasoline motor.

His mastery of electronic devices was largely self-taught, through work experience and the inventing process. After brief stints working aboard a steamship and a hotel, Jones moved to Hallock, Minnesota began designing and building race cars, and drove them at local tracks and at county fairs.

His favorite car was known as Number 15 and it was so well designed it not only defeated other automobiles but once won a race against an airplane. He soon took a job as a mechanic on railroad magnate James J. Hill's farm in Kittson County. In the late s, Jones designed a series of devices for the developing movie industry, which adapted silent movie projectors to use talking movie stock.

He also developed an apparatus for the movie box office that delivers tickets and returns change to customers. First, don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. Don't be afraid to work. Try lots of jobs. Work for nothing if you have to, but get the experience.

You never know when what you have learned will come in handy. Second, you have to read. Find out what others know. You don't have to buy books. Use libraries! You can educate yourself by reading. All my life has been study and work. That's what I get fun out of. And third, you have to believe in yourself. Don't listen to others tell you you're wrong. Remember, nothing is impossible. Go ahead and prove you're right. Today, long-distance transportation of perishables is commonplace. But in the s, transport of products requiring climate controlled conditions was still a risky enterprise.

Options were limited: ice was itself perishable, electronic refrigeration units required layovers at power sources, and early attempts at road-worthy cooling units had been foiled by the damaging effects of vibration. It was Minnesota-based engineer Frederick McKinley Jones who finally "broke the ice" with his invention and patent of the first practical transport refrigeration unit for trucks. His portable air-cooling device featured a gasoline motor built to handle the jolts of over-the-road travel.

When the town decided to fund a new radio station, Jones built the transmitter needed to broadcast its programming. He also developed a device to combine moving pictures with sound. Local businessman Joseph A. Numero subsequently hired Jones to improve the sound equipment he produced for the film industry. Jones continued to expand his interests in the s. He designed and patented a portable air-cooling unit for trucks carrying perishable food.

Forming a partnership with Numero, Jones founded the U. Thermo Control Company. The company grew exponentially during World War II, helping to preserve blood, medicine and food.

By , U. Thermo Control was worth millions of dollars. Over the course of his career, Jones received more than 60 patents. While the majority pertained to refrigeration technologies, others related to X-ray machines, engines and sound equipment. Jones was born in Covington, Kentucky. Despite having minimal formal schooling, he became the first African-American to be awarded the National Medal of Technology. Induction Event Collegiate Inventors Event. US Patent No.