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.
Elie Aghnides
Aghnides' first major invention was the faucet aerator, which is a standard part of nearly all faucets today, in 1943. He said he got the idea from watching a waterfall. He also had a number of related patents throughout the years stemming from his original invention. This invention and its subsequent modifications and additions made him very wealthy. He kept luxury apartments in both New York City and Paris.