Father of Cool > Willis Carrier: The Father of Cool

Sure we're celebrating lots of cool dads on this Web site, but there's only one, original "Father of Cool" -- Willis Carrier. He is a surprisingly "unsung" hero who deserves to join the ranks of legendary inventors like Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and Henry Ford.

One hundred years ago this summer, July 17, 1902, Willis Carrier designed the first modern air conditioning system. A constant problem solver, Carrier created the system specifically for a frustrated Brooklyn, N.Y. printer who couldn't produce a decent color image because changes in heat and humidity kept altering the paper's dimensions and misaligning the colored inks.

Willis Carrier's invention changed the world. Just think of all the industries that today depend on air conditioning! If air conditioning were never invented, we would not get to enjoy cool movie theaters on a hot summer day. Domed stadiums would never be able to comfortably hold big crowds. And candy would melt on the factory floor!

Carrier's remarkable invention not only spawned a company and an industry, but also impacted humankind in enormous ways. The pharmaceutical, food processing and computer industries, to name just a few, all benefited tremendously from the climate control that air conditioning provides.

For more information on the 100th anniversary of the invention of modern air conditioning, please visit our special Web site or read more about Willis Carrier, one of America's greatest inventors.