<P> In 1805, American inventor Oliver Evans described a closed vapor - compression refrigeration cycle for the production of ice by ether under vacuum . In 1820, the British scientist Michael Faraday liquefied ammonia and other gases by using high pressures and low temperatures, and in 1834, an American expatriate in Great Britain, Jacob Perkins, built the first working vapor - compression refrigeration system . It was a closed - cycle device that could operate continuously . A similar attempt was made in 1842, by American physician, John Gorrie, who built a working prototype, but it was a commercial failure . American engineer Alexander Twining took out a British patent in 1850 for a vapor compression system that used ether . </P> <P> The first practical vapor compression refrigeration system was built by James Harrison, a British journalist who had emigrated to Australia . His 1856 patent was for a vapor compression system using ether, alcohol or ammonia . He built a mechanical ice - making machine in 1851 on the banks of the Barwon River at Rocky Point in Geelong, Victoria, and his first commercial ice - making machine followed in 1854 . Harrison also introduced commercial vapor - compression refrigeration to breweries and meat packing houses, and by 1861, a dozen of his systems were in operation . </P> <P> The first gas absorption refrigeration system using gaseous ammonia dissolved in water (referred to as "aqua ammonia") was developed by Ferdinand Carré of France in 1859 and patented in 1860 . Carl von Linde, an engineering professor at the Technological University Munich in Germany, patented an improved method of liquefying gases in 1876 . His new process made possible the use of gases such as ammonia (NH), sulfur dioxide (SO) and methyl chloride (CH Cl) as refrigerants and they were widely used for that purpose until the late 1920s . </P> <P> In 1913, refrigerators for home and domestic use were invented by Fred W. Wolf of Fort Wayne, Indiana with models consisting of a unit that was mounted on top of an ice box . In 1914, engineer Nathaniel B. Wales of Detroit, Michigan, introduced an idea for a practical electric refrigeration unit, which later became the basis for the Kelvinator . A self - contained refrigerator, with a compressor on the bottom of the cabinet was invented by Alfred Mellowes in 1916 . Mellowes produced this refrigerator commercially but was bought out by William C. Durant in 1918, who started the Frigidaire company to mass - produce refrigerators . In 1918, Kelvinator company introduced the first refrigerator with any type of automatic control . The absorption refrigerator was invented by Baltzar von Platen and Carl Munters from Sweden in 1922, while they were still students at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm . It became a worldwide success and was commercialized by Electrolux . Other pioneers included Charles Tellier, David Boyle, and Raoul Pictet . Carl von Linde was the first to patent and make a practical and compact refrigerator . </P>

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