Frederick McKinley Jones: African American Engineer and Inventor

Frederick McKinley Jones was born between 1892 and 1893 in Covington, Kentucky. His father was Irish American, and his mother was African American. After his mother died, his father took him to a Catholic boarding school in Ohio, where he hoped his son would receive a good education. At age 12, Jones left the school to go to work at a garage. He became an expert mechanic and used his skills to build racecars.

Jones enlisted in the army in 1918 and served during WWI in France. He returned to Hallock, Minnesota, in 1919. He began a long career as an inventor by creating a snowmachine and a portable X-ray machine that could be used by doctors when they made housecalls. He also improved film projection technology and invented audio devices for the first "talkie" movies. He did not patent most of his early inventions, and others often stole his ideas and reaped the profits of his work. In 1927 he began working for the Ultraphone Company in Minneapolis.

In 1939, he obtained his first patent, for a machine that automatically dispensed movie tickets. In 1939, he and Joe Numero obtained a patent for their new invention, a portable air conditioning unit that could be used on trucks, trains, and ships. This invention revolutionized long-distance transport of perishable goods like fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. Jones and Numero founded the ThermoKing Corporation to market their new device.

Frederick Jones continued to create new inventions throughout his life, and obtained a total of more than 60 patents. He died in 1961. After his death, he became the first Black inventor to be awarded the National Medal of Technology.