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Frederick McKinley Jones — Historical photograph
Historical photograph. National Inventors Hall of Fame portrait; original photographer not identified on the inspected page. Image credit & source

Mechanical engineering · Refrigeration · Invention

Frederick McKinley Jones

1893–1961

STEMUS

Jones designed practical mobile refrigeration equipment that could withstand road travel, helping trucks carry perishable food much farther. He and Joseph Numero built the business that became Thermo King. Jones also worked on sound equipment and other technologies and received more than sixty patents.[1],[2],[3]

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Jones designed practical mobile refrigeration equipment that could withstand road travel, helping trucks carry perishable food much farther. He and Joseph Numero built the business that became Thermo King. Jones also worked on sound equipment and other technologies and received more than sixty patents.[1],[2],[3]

Local connection. National-to-local curriculum connection: trace a refrigerated food's route to a Bayview grocery store. This is a supply-chain connection, not a claim that Jones lived in the Bay Area.

Impact reached: United States food distribution; International transport of perishable goods. (Impact describes who was reached; it is not a place of residence.)

Inquiry & making

Inquiry and making prompt

Design a container to slow an ice cube's melting. Compare materials and record what happens without tasting experiment materials.

Places

Where Frederick was born, had roots or studied, and worked — distinguished from where their impact reached.

Born
Cincinnati, Ohio
Roots / education
Hallock, Minnesota
Worked
Hallock, Minnesota; Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Mapped places for Frederick McKinley Jones
RelationshipDocumented placeMap pointSources
BirthplaceCincinnati, OhioCincinnati city, OHCensus representative point[1][2][3]
Roots / educationHallock, MinnesotaHallock city, MNCensus representative point[1][2][3]
WorkHallock, MinnesotaHallock city, MNCensus representative point[1][2][3]
WorkMinneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis city, MNCensus representative point[1][2][3]

Timeline

  1. 1893

    Born — Cincinnati, Ohio[1]

  2. 1961

    Died[1]

Gallery

Portrait plus 1 source-grounded contextual item. Every image links to its source record.

Frederick McKinley Jones: Historical photograph
Frederick McKinley Jones — portraitHistorical photograph.Credit: National Inventors Hall of Fame portrait; original photographer not identified on the inspected pageLicense / rights: Classroom review: rights not verified.Source recordOriginal-quality file
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References

  1. [1]
    National Inventors Hall of Fame: Frederick McKinley Jones

    Supports: 1893–1961 dates, Cincinnati birthplace, mobile refrigeration and patents.

  2. [2]
    Minnesota Historical Society: Thermo King Model C

    Supports: Hallock and Minneapolis connections, archival records of transport refrigeration.

  3. [3]
    Thermo King: About Frederick McKinley Jones

    Supports: Company history and the applications of refrigerated transportation.

Last reviewed 2026-11-08 · Initial research edition · Record ID frederick-mckinley-jones. A curated, source-informed article — not openly editable and not independently scholar-reviewed. Corrections process.