The Black Inventors That Changed Heating and Cooling Forever
Every industry has a person or small group that contributed changes so significantly they revolutionized the field. Three black inventors revolutionized heating and cooling for the modern world, and it’s time we knew about their contributions and rightly credited them for their hard work. What better time than during black history month? Continue reading to get insight into the creation of these three groundbreaking inventors.
David Crosthwait
David Crosthwait was a mechanic, electrical engineer, inventor, and writer, specializing in air ventilation, central air conditioning, and heat transfer systems. He was an educated man with a master’s degree in engineering and made massive contributions to modern heating and cooling systems, temperature regulation devices, and vacuum pumps.
His inventions include:
- An improved boiler
- New thermostat control
- New differential vacuum pump
He was even commissioned to design the heating system for Radio City Music Hall in New York City and won a medal in the 1930s for his work.

Alice Parker
In the 1920s, using natural gas to power a heating furnace for central heating was unheard of. It was a revolutionary idea, but Alice Parker figured it out. Her invention of the gas furnace with ductwork single-handedly catapulted the HVAC industry into the 20th and 21st centuries.
Parker felt the fireplace in her home wasn’t effective at heating every room, so she invented a way to carry heat throughout a house. Her invention drew cool air into a furnace through a heat exchanger and delivered warm air to each room via air ducts. The fact that her design used natural gas made her invention stand out. No one else had figured out how to do it before her.

Lewis Latimer
He is well known for his revolutionary contributions to the carbon filament lightbulb, but that’s not all he did. Here are a few other inventions he had a hand in:
- The telephone
- The commercialization of the incandescent lightbulb
- Improved the toilet system for railroad cars
He also invented an evaporative air conditioner to improve indoor air quality significantly. Latimer worked alongside celebrated scientific inventors like Alexander Graham Bell, Hiram S. Maxim, and Thomas Edison.
He was and still is significantly celebrated for his contributions to different industries. His home in New York is now a museum owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
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