Willis H. Carrier – 1876-1950

While working as an engineer for the the Buffalo Forge Company in 1902, Carrier invented a system that simultaneously controlled temperature and humidity. He explained the theory behind his system in a 1911 technical paper, “Rational Psychrometric Formulae,” which marked the birth of modern air conditioning, and his company, Carrier Corporation, founded in 1915, was the first manufacturer of the equipment. Air conditioning made it possible to work in all climates and proved essential to many precision manufacturing processes.