Willis Carrier

Willis Carrier was an American engineer who in 1902 designed the first modern air conditioning system, built to control both temperature and humidity for a Brooklyn printing plant where fluctuating moisture was ruining the color printing process. His 1906 patent for an Apparatus for Treating Air laid out the engineering principles of mechanical dehumidification and cooling that all later air conditioning systems built on, and the company he founded in 1915, later Carrier Corporation, grew into one of the world's largest heating, ventilation and air conditioning manufacturers. Mechanical cooling and climate control built on his original engineering now represent a significant and growing share of global electricity demand.