Various mechanical refrigeration devices appeared over the years.
- The first known artificial Refrigeration was demonstrated by William Cullen at the University of Glasgow in 1748, and relied on the process explained by Michael Faraday, but it was not practical. It was big, bulky and took up too much room.
- An American inventor named Oliver Evans invented a refrigerator in 1804. In 1834, Jacob Perkins invented the "Practical Version" that was a big hit.
- Dr John Gorrie, a Scot, received a patent in 1851 for an ice-making machine.
- Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde (1842-1934) developed refrigeration in Germany in 1876 . He set up a commercial company in 1879.
- While the process of the invention of refrigeration actually began as early as the 1700s and many appliances got their start from those early ideas, the idea of the home refrigerator was started by a Frenchman named Marcel Audiffren. His idea and patents were puchased by the American Audiffren Refrigerating Machines Company and units were built in Fort Wayne Indiana by General Electric. They were the precursors to the Frigidaire. The first unit was sold in 1911 for about $1000.00.
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