John Gorrie (médecin)

Statue de John Gorrie au National Statuary Hall Collection (situé dans le Capitole des États-Unis d’Amérique).

John Gorrie, né le 3 octobre 1802 et décédé le 29 juin 1855, est un médecin, inventeur et humaniste américain considéré comme le père de la réfrigération et du conditionnement d'air.

Il naît sur l'île de Nevis, de parents écossais, et passe son enfance en Caroline du Sud. Il reçoit son instruction médicale au Collège des Médecins et Chirurgiens du District Ouest de New York à Fairfield, État de New York. En 1833, il part pour Apalachicola en Floride, cité portuaire du Golfe du Mexique. En plus d'être médecin résident de deux hôpitaux, Gorrie est actif envers sa communauté. En des périodes diverses il sert en tant que membre du conseil, Maître des postes, Président de la Banque de la Branche Apachicola de Pensacola, Secrétaire de la loge maçonnique et est l'un des membres fondateurs de L'Église Épiscopale de la Trinité.

Dr. Gorrie's medical research involved the study of tropical diseases. At the time the theory that bad air caused diseases was a prevalent hypothesis and based on this theory, he urged draining the swamps and the cooling of sickrooms. For this he cooled rooms with ice in a basin suspended from the ceiling. Cool air, being heavier, flowed down across the patient and though an opening near the floor. Since ice had to be brought by boat from the northern lakes, Gorrie experimented with making artificial ice.

After 1845, he gave up his medical practice to pursue refrigeration projects. On May 6, 1851, Gorrie was granted Patent No. 8080 for a machine to make ice. The original model of this machine and the scientific articles he wrote are at the Smithsonian Institution. Impoverished, Gorrie sought to raise money to manufacture his machine, but the venture failed when his partner died. Humiliated by criticism, financially ruined, and his health broken, Gorrie died in seclusion on June 29, 1855. He is buried in Gorrie Square in Apalachicola.

Monuments and memorials

Schematic of Gorrie's ice machine.

• In Apalachicola, Gorrie Square is named in his honor. The square contains his grave site, a monument, the John Gorrie Museum [1], and the Apalachicola Municipal Library.
• The John Gorrie Bridge across Apalachicola Bay, connects Apalachicola with Eastpoint.
• In 1914, the state of Florida gave a statue of Gorrie to the National Statuary Hall Collection.
• John Gorrie Junior High School in Jacksonville, Florida and John Gorrie Elementary School in Tampa, Florida are named in his honor.
• The SS John Gorrie, a liberty ship, was named in his honor.
• The John Gorrie Award is awarded each year to a graduate of the University of Florida College of Medicine believed most likely to become a successful general practicioner.

External links

• NSH biography of Gorrie
• John Gorrie Museum State Park

References

• Raymond B. Becker. John Gorrie, M.D.: Father of Air Conditioning and Mechanical Refrigeration, Carlton Press, 1972.
• John Gladstone. John Gorrie, the Visionary, ASHRAE Journal, December 1998. PDF file
• V. M. Sherlock. The Fever Man: a Biography of Dr. John Gorrie, Medallion Press: 1982.