Birthday profile

Frederick McKinley Jones

Frederick McKinley Jones, American inventor and entrepreneur (died 1961)

Born
May 17, 1893
Died
February 21, 1961
Zodiac sign
Taurus
Birth year
1893

About Frederick McKinley Jones

Frederick McKinley Jones was an American inventor, entrepreneur, engineer, winner of the National Medal of Technology, and an inductee of the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He innovated mobile refrigeration technology. Jones received 61 patents, including 40 for refrigeration technology, and also revolutionized the cinema industry by creating a superior sound system for projectors at the time. Jones co-founded Thermo King and also served as a sergeant in World War I. Due to his contributions to refrigeration technology, Jones is called the "Father of Refrigerated Transportation", and the "King of Cool". Jones built a transmitter for the town's first radio station. He also invented a device to combine sound with motion pictures. Thermo Control Company (later the Thermo King Corporation) which became a $3 million business by 1949.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

The world when Frederick McKinley Jones was born

Frederick McKinley Jones was born in 1893. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Headlines and milestones

  • Top headlineWorld's Columbian Exposition in Chicago
  • Technology milestoneFirst Ferris wheel debuts at Chicago World's Fair
  • Notable inventionFerris wheel (264 feet tall)
  • World population~1.53B

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderGrover Cleveland
  • U.S. population66.0M

1893 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Frederick McKinley Jones's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure18932026
Population66.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.