Frederick McKinley Jones

Frederick McKinley Jones (May 17, 1893 – February 21, 1961) was an American inventor, entrepreneur, engineer, winner of the National Medal of Technology, and an inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. Jones innovated mobile refrigeration technology. He received 61 patents, 40 for refrigeration technology. He co-founded Thermo King and also served as a Sergeant in World War I.
Early life.
Jones was born in Covington, Kentucky on May 17, 1893, to an Irish father and African-American mother. Little is known about his mother who left his life when he was a child. His father, John Jones, was a railroad worker who struggled to raise him on his own. Jones was raised by a Catholic priest, Father Ryan, at a rectory in Cincinnati, Ohio, near Covington. Father Ryan took in Jones by age eight, and two years later John Jones died. Jones left school after 6th grade, at age 11. He went to nearby Cincinnati, Ohio. There he worked odd jobs including a role as a garage cleaning boy. By age 14 Jones was working as an automobile mechanic and was later named garage foreman. Jones was largely self taught.
Career.
Mechanical engineer.
In 1912, Jones moved to Hallock, Minnesota, where he worked as a mechanic on a farm. The farm was owned by James J. Hill, who was also owner of the Great Northern Railroad. Jones' proximity to the Hill and the railroad facilitated his education in electricity and steam locomotive engines. He lived there for over 20 years and would later say in a newspaper article that Hallock was a place "where a man … [was] judged more on his character and ability than on the color of his skin." Jones received his engineering license at age 20. He later upgraded his license to the highest grade.
Army service.
Jones took part in World War I in an all-black unit until his mechanical skills were spotted and he was promoted to sergeant working as an electrician and even teaching other soldiers. Jones performed the wiring necessary to equip his camp with electricity, telegraph, and telephone services.
Audiovisual work.
After service with the U.S. Army in World War I, Jones returned to Hallock. He worked as a mechanic while learning about electronics. He built a transmitter for the town's first radio station. He also invented a device to combine sound with motion pictures. This attracted the attention of local entrepreneur Joseph A. Numero of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Numero owned a company that manufactured audio equipment called Ultraphone Sound Systems Inc. and was later renamed to Cinema Supplies Inc. He hired Jones in 1927 as an electrical engineer to improve the audio equipment made by his firm. Jones worked on converting silent movie projectors into audiovisual projectors. Jones also patented a ticket dispensing machine for movie theaters.
Refrigeration.
Around 1938, following a request by Numero, Jones began designing the Thermo Control Model A automatic truck refrigeration unit. Jones designed the portable air-cooling unit for trucks carrying perishable food to prevent spoilage. The Model A refrigeration equipment was attached to undercarriages of trucks. Chilled air was transported to the inside of the trailer via refrigerant tubing. Because Model A was too heavy, Jones later developed the Model B. The Model B was smaller and lighter, but not durable. In 1941, Jones completed development of the Model C, which was mounted to the front of the truck. It was compact, light, and withstood road travel vibrations. In 1939, Jones filed for a patent for the Model A and received a patent for it on July 12, 1949. Numero sold his movie sound equipment business to RCA and formed a new company in partnership with Jones, the U.S. Thermo Control Company (later the Thermo King Corporation) which became a $3 million business by 1949. Portable cooling units designed by Jones were especially important during World War II, preserving blood, medicine, and food for use at army hospitals and on open battlefields. Model C units were manufactured for military use, following the war the units became available for commercial use.
Other inventions.
He also developed a portable x-ray machine. He also developed an early prototype of a snowmobile. It was a "snow machine" that attached skis to the undercarriage of an airplane fuselage and attached a propeller, and a sound track synchroniser (later selling the patent to RCA). A movie-ticket dispenser, and an early radio service for local doctors were also counted among his inventions.
Distinctions and honors.
During his life, Jones was awarded 61 patents. Forty were for refrigeration equipment, while others were for devices for theater equipment and devices pertaining to gasoline engines.
Death.
He died of lung cancer in Minneapolis in 1961, predeceasing his wife Lucille. In an obituary in the Saturday Evening Post it was said "Most engineers start at the bottom of a project and work up, but Fred takes a flying leap to the top of the mountain and then backs down, cutting steps for himself and the rest of us as he goes." Jones continued filing for patents almost up until his death, receiving his last patent in February 1960.