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Willis Carrier changed the world by inventing modern air conditioning.
Born in 1876, he grew up during an era of rapid technological change, when new machines and manufacturing methods were reshaping society.
In July 1902, Willis Carrier confronted a problem at a Brooklyn printing press.
Hot, humid air warped the paper, causing misaligned colors and ruined prints.
Studying the issue, Carrier invented a machine that could both cool air and extract moisture.
His invention marked the beginning of modern air conditioning.
Willis Carrier stood in his workshop on a cold January morning in 1906, examining the patent document for his spray-type air conditioning system.
His invention, developed through lots of testing and mathematical modeling, could control indoor humidity levels with scientific accuracy.
Looking at his approved patent, Carrier understood this device would alter both manufacturing processes and human living conditions in fundamental ways.
During a hot summer in Buffalo in 1906, Willis Carrier conducted experiments that transformed modern cooling technology.
His testing revealed the "law of constant dew-point depression" — a core principle that explains how air loses moisture as it cools.
This discovery enabled the creation of automated climate control systems that could maintain specific indoor conditions.
In December 1911, Willis Carrier addressed the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
He presented "Rational Psychrometric Formulae," a mathematical framework that defined the relationships between relative humidity, absolute humidity, and dew-point temperature.
His work laid the foundation for precise air-conditioning system design, transforming indoor climate control from guesswork to engineering science.
In 1915, Willis Carrier and six engineers met in New York City to launch their company.
Together, they invested their combined savings of $32,600 to establish the Carrier Engineering Corporation.
In 1930, amid the Great Depression, Willis Carrier faced a big decision as his company's financial stability eroded.
He merged his enterprise with Brunswick-Kroeschell Company and York Heating & Ventilating Corporation to form the Carrier Corporation.
This merger strengthened all three companies' positions in the air conditioning industry.
In the summer of 1939, Willis Carrier revealed his innovative air conditioning system at the New York World's Fair.
His igloo-shaped pavilion stood distinct among the fairground's structures.
Inside, visitors experienced controlled cooling for the first time, a technology that would change how people lived and worked in warm climates.
The cool interior offered a tangible glimpse of a more comfortable future.
Willis Carrier married three times and was widowed twice.
He adopted two children, raising them as his own and finding deep fulfillment in fatherhood.
His Presbyterian faith guided his spiritual life, while his Republican politics shaped his civic engagement.
Between his innovations in air conditioning, Carrier found refuge on the golf course to calm his nerves and pass the time.
During World War II in 1942, Alfred University awarded Willis Carrier an honorary Doctor of Letters degree, recognizing his scientific achievements.
The National Inventors Hall of Fame inducted him in 1985, followed by the Buffalo Science Museum Hall of Fame in 2008.
When he died in 1950, Carrier served as a Cornell University trustee, completing a lifelong connection to his alma mater.
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