Timeline of United States inventions (1890–1945)
Air conditioning is the cooling and de-humidification of indoor air for thermal comfort. Using a system of coils as a solution to cool and remove moisture from muggy air in a printing plant that was wrinkling magazine pages, Willis Carrier invented and manufactured the world's first mechanical air conditioning unit in 1902. Carrier's invention – encompassing the first system to provide man-made control over temperature, humidity, ventilation and air quality, was first installed as a solution to the quality problems experienced at a Brooklyn printing plant, Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company. Air conditioning not only spawned a company and an industry, but also brought about profound economic, social and cultural changes.
Reuben Trane
Reuben Trane was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin. He graduated from La Crosse Central High School in 1906. In 1910, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. In 1913, James and Reuben incorporated The Trane Company. In 1923, Reuben Trane invented the convector radiator. From 1916 until 1951, Reuben Trane was President of Trane. From 1951 until his death in 1954, Reuben Trane was chairman of the board of Trane. He was a member of the Institution of Heating and Ventilating Engineers and of the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers (ASHRAE), to which he was awarded a lifetime membership in 1951. Reuben N. Trane was inducted into the ASHRAE Hall of Fame in 1997.