What started as an invention to control humidity in a New York printing plant in 1902 has forever changed the way people around the world live, work, and play.
July 17, 2012, marks the 110th anniversary of the invention of modern air-conditioning by Dr Willis H Carrier, inventor and founder of Carrier, provider of heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration systems and a part of UTC Climate, Controls & Security, a unit of United Technologies Corp (NYSE: UTX).
A young research engineer a year out of Cornell University, Carrier on July 17, 1902, completed the design to stabilize humidity in the air so the dimensions of the paper at the Sackett & Wilhelms Lithography and Printing Company in Brooklyn NY would remain constant during the printing process. Since then, this innovation has been applied to everything from malls to manufacturing facilities, buses to businesses and houses to hospitals—all looking to establish a comfortable environment.
“In the early 1900s, air-conditioning was primarily an industrial application that enabled countless industries to thrive with candy-making companies, textile mills, and theaters some of the most enthusiastic early adopters,” said Geraud Darnis, president and chief executive officer, UTC Climate, Controls & Security. “Over the years, Carrier’s innovations looked to make possible what was previously impossible.”
A leading engineer of his day, Carrier filed more than 80 patents during his career. To celebrate the 110th milestone, the company launched a new website, www.WillisCarrier.com, in April dedicated to its history and containing little-known vignettes about Carrier’s life and work. In June, the company released its newly commissioned 144-page, hardcover book, called Weathermakers to the World, which chronicles the entrepreneurial spirit of Willis Carrier and the history of modern air-conditioning.
“At 25 years old, Willis Carrier’s foresight forever changed the world and paved the way for more than a century of once-impossible innovations,” Darnis said. “His genius created an entire industry essential to global productivity and personal comfort.”
Access www.WillisCarrier.com to view Carrier’s history website. To order a copy of the Weathermakers to the World book, visit www.amazon.com.
