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In the year 1805, US inventor Oliver Evans, designed the first refrigeration machine that didn't use liquid but vapor instead to cool.
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The first commercial ice-making machine, built by Jacob Parkins, was invented in 1854.
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In 1859, France’s Ferdinand Carré created a more advanced system that used ammonia as a coolant; the earlier vapor-compression machines used air. The ammonia worked well, but was toxic if it leaked.
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Fred W. Wolf invented the first commercially viable electric refrigerator in the United States in 1913, the DOMELRE, an air-cooled refrigeration unit, was mounted on top of an icebox.
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In 1915, Alfred Mellowes designed an electric refrigeration unit that differed from other refrigerators because it was self-contained; the compressor was in the bottom of the cabinet.
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W.C. Durant, who was president of General Motors, eventually purchased the Guardian Refrigerator Company privately, and the business was renamed Frigidaire. Frigidaire refrigerator was completed in September 1918 in Detroit.
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By 1929, 1 million refrigerators had been produced, a marked improvement from the early years.
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The 1940’s brought the refrigerator we recognize today.The refrigerator of the 1940's brought safe food storage to the American home, and set a standard of food safety.
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Today, the refrigerator is America's most used appliance, found in more than 99.5% of American homes
