Frederick McKinley Jones
Do you buy any food from grocery stores? Of course you do, who doesn’t. Then there’s one man you should really thank; his name is Frederick McKinley Jones. He is the African-American inventor responsible for the creation of a portable cooling unit. Frederick M. Jones over his tough lifetime has created and patented 60 inventions. He is without doubt, one of the greatest African-American inventors of the 20th century.

Frederick McKinley Jones was born on May 17, 1893 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother and father both died by the time Frederick was 9 years old. Thanks to this he lived with a priest in the state of Kentucky. After only 2 years of living with the priest, at the age of 11 Frederick returned to Cincinnati and found work as a janitor and later as an automobile mechanic. He had a compassion toward mechanics, causing him to move to Minnesota on a farm as a mechanic. During WWI, Jones served in the army, and then returned to Hallock farm; where he learned most about electronics. When his town decided to start a radio station, Frederick built a transmitter and also a machine which combined moving pictures with sound. A local businessman named Joseph A. Numero saw this and hired him for a job in his company; Cinema Supplies Inc.

Frederick McKinley Jones has created many genius inventions throughout his life. He is famous though, for the creation of a portable refrigeration system for long-hauls. He received a patent for the machine on July 12, 1940.Using this invention Jones and Numero created the U.S. Thermo Control Company. During WWII, the Thermo Control Company sold machines to the
U.S. Army. The army used the machines to transport blood and food to soldiers. By around 1949, the Thermo Control Company was worth millions.

I think Frederick Jones “is” one of the greatest African-American inventors, not