Willis Carrier

Willis Carrier

Willis Carrier was born on November 26, 1876 in Angola, New York.

He graduated from Angola Academy in 1894 and from the Buffalo High School in 1897.

Willis graduated from Cornell University 1901 with a Master of Engineering Degree.

He then went to work at the Buffalo Forge Company as a Research Engineer.

Willis invented the first Electric Air Conditioning system on July 17, 1902.

He received several different patents over the years.

In 1908, the Carrier Air Conditioner Company of America was created as a subsidiary of the Buffalo Forge Company, with Willis as its Vice President.

On December 3, 1911, Willis presented the most significant document ever prepared on Air Conditioning – “Rational Psychrometric Formulae” – at the annual meeting of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

It became known as the "Magna Carta of Psychrometrics” and tied together the concepts of Relative Humidity, Absolute Humidity, and Dew-Point Temperature, thus making it possible to design Air-Conditioning Systems to precisely fit the requirements at hand.

Willis created the Carrier Engineering Corporation in New York on June 26, 1915. The Company later moved to Newark, New Jersey.

In 1930, (after the Great Depression started) Carrier Engineering Corp. merged with Brunswick-Kroeschell Company and York Heating & Ventilating Corporation to form the Carrier Corporation, with Willis named Chairman of the Board.

Also in 1930, Willis started Toyo Carrier and Samsung Applications in Japan and Korea (Korea was occupied by the Japanese at the time.)  South Korea is now the largest Producer for Air Conditioning in the World.

In 1937 the Company moved to Syracuse, New York.

Willis’ igloo-shaped Pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair gave Visitors a glimpse into the future of Air Conditioning, but before it became popular, World War II began.

During the Post-War Economic Boom of the 1950s, Air Conditioning began its tremendous growth in popularity.

Willis Carrier died on October 7, 1950, at Cornell Medical Center in New York City. He was 73 years old.