He Made Ice and Changed the World: The Story of Florida’s John Gorrie

Dr. John Gorrie changed the world with his invention, but many people have never heard of him. After taking the Hippocratic Oath, he vowed to do what no other physician of his day had done: cure malaria and yellow fever. Realizing that temperature affected how likely epidemics would occur, Dr. Gorrie set off on his journey that would bring medicine–and the world–into the future. With little money and even less public support, Dr. Gorrie became a well-known face in the South, producing artificial ice in the dead of summer. Once big corporations took over operations, Dr. Gorrie’s new ice machine was making more ice than ever before, and people started to take notice everywhere. Though, Dr. Gorrie’s legacy didn’t end there; he’d start applying his technology in his medical practice, leading to the increased comfort and overall health of countless diseased victims suffering from the fevers, as tropical diseases were then called. Today, Dr. Gorrie’s artificial ice has changed lives and made modern convenience possible. Although he’s still underrated in the media, his life and legacy live on through various medical journals, memorials, statues, and people who are passionate about his contribution to the world. It’s definitely not far fetched to say that Dr. Gorrie really left his mark.