The invention of the ice cube is often credited to American physician John Gorrie, who created an early form of the ice machine in the 1840s. Gorrie was seeking a way to cool the air for patients suffering from yellow fever in Florida, and his machine produced ice, which was then used to cool the air.
In 1845, Gorrie gave up his medical practice to pursue refrigeration products. By 1850 he was able to produce ice the size of bricks routinely. 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. In 1835, patents for "Apparatus and means for producing ice and in cooling fluids" had been granted in England and Scotland to American-born inventor Jacob Perkins, who became known as "the father of the refrigerator". Impoverished, Gorrie sought to raise money to manufacture his machine, but the venture failed when his partner died. Humiliated by criticism, financially ruined, and broken health, Gorrie died in seclusion on June 29, 1855. He is buried in Magnolia Cemetery.
