Frederick Jones

Frederick McKinley Jones, a self-taught engineer and inventor, revolutionized the transport refrigeration industry by designing the first portable air-cooling unit for trucks, a development sparked by a $6 golf course wager. His invention not only led to the creation of Thermo King Corporation but also established the transport refrigeration industry itself.

Born in 1893 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jones grew up in modest circumstances, with a natural talent and interest in mechanical devices. He eventually moved to Minnesota, where Joseph Numero challenged him to use his engineering skills to create a cooling unit for trucks after hearing about a load of chickens lost due to melting ice during transportation from St. Paul to Chicago.

Jones successfully designed a functional unit within 30 days, becoming Thermo King’s first engineer and setting a precedent for innovation at the company, which is now over 85 years old. Throughout his career, he earned more than 60 patents. In 1944, Jones became the first African American elected to the American Society of Refrigeration Engineers. He was posthumously inducted into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame in 1977 and awarded the National Medal of Technology in 1991. Today, his legacy continues to inspire innovation at Thermo King and within the transport refrigeration industry.