Who Invented the Refrigerator?
Science often advances in the most haphazard ways. That snow and ice could be used to preserve food was probably known to some of the earliest humans. But in 1626, this idea was still so novel that English philosopher Francis Bacon died as the result of a refrigeration experiment. The method behind modern refrigeration was discovered in 1748, but it would take nearly 60 more years for the first refrigeration system to be designed, and 30 more years for a working refrigerator to be built. And believe it or not, the first device to be called “refrigerator” was actually lined with rabbit fur. Primitive refrigeration experiments Francis Bacon is best known today as the originator of the Baconian method, a process of discovering causes through the use of deductive elimination and inductive reasoning. Bacon’s natural curiosity would ultimately lead to his death. In March of 1626, Bacon formed the idea of using snow to preserve meat. Bacon purchased a chicken, stuffed it with snow, and as a r
Refrigerators are an essential part of every modern kitchen. While just about every home makes use of a refrigerator, most consumers know nothing about the history of refrigeration and the invention of the refrigerator. The gradual creation of the modern refrigerator actually spans a process that began in the 18th century and culminated with the work of German engineer Carl von Linden in 1876. The first efforts that eventually led to the modern refrigeration process that continues to form the basis for the fridges that grace kitchens all over the world today. William Cullen of the University of Glasgow first developed a process to create an artificial cooling medium in 1748. At the time, there did not appear to be much interest in applying the medium to use in commercial or home applications, so the process created little in the way of interest beyond the scientific community. It would take the better part of a century before someone would apply the basic principles discovered by Culle
