Alice H. Parker facts for kids

Alice H. Parker (1895 – 1920) was an amazing African-American inventor. She is best known for creating a special design for a gas furnace.

Early Life and Education

Alice H. Parker was born in 1895 in Morristown, New Jersey. She grew up there for part of her life.

She was a very smart and educated woman. In 1910, she graduated with honors from Howard University Academy. This was a special university that accepted both male and female African-American students.

Records show that Parker worked as a cook in Morristown, New Jersey. She lived with her husband, who was a butler. Even though she made a huge impact on how we heat our homes today, not much is known about her personal life. It is believed she passed away around 1920.

Her Amazing Invention

Back in Alice Parker's time, people usually heated their homes by burning coal or wood in fireplaces. While central heating had been around for a long time, it hadn't changed much since the Roman Empire. Heating methods were still quite basic.

Parker felt that a fireplace alone wasn't enough to keep her home warm during the cold New Jersey winters. So, she came up with a brilliant idea!

She designed the first gas furnace that used natural gas. Her invention was also the first heating system to have special, individually controlled air ducts. These ducts helped spread heat evenly throughout a building.

In simple terms, Parker's system pulled in cold air. It then heated this air using special burner units. This warm air was then sent through different ducts. This allowed people to control how much heat went to different rooms. This was a new idea called "zone heating." It meant you could set different temperatures in different parts of a building.

Her invention had many great benefits. It made homes much warmer and more comfortable. It also reduced the risk of house fires. Before, people had to leave burning fireplaces on all night. Parker's system removed that need.

While her first design had some safety concerns, it was a huge step forward. It inspired many new features we use today. These include thermostats, zone heating, and forced-air furnaces. These are all common parts of modern central heating systems. Using natural gas also made heating homes much more efficient than burning wood or coal.

Scientists later improved Parker's invention in 1935. They created forced convection wall heaters. These used a coal furnace, an electric fan, and ductwork. Today, many homes use thermostats and forced-air furnaces. We can thank Alice Parker's original design for paving the way!

Her patent was filed before the Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Liberation Movement. This makes her achievements even more impressive. She broke down many barriers for black women of her time.

Her Lasting Legacy

Alice H. Parker's work continues to be celebrated. In 2019, the National Society of Black Physicists honored her. They called her an "African American inventor famous for her patented system of central heating using natural gas." They said her invention was a "revolutionary idea" for the 1920s. It "conserved energy and paved the way for the central heating systems" we use today.

The New Jersey Chamber of Commerce also created an award in her name. It's called the Alice H. Parker Women Leaders in Innovation Awards. This award honors women who use their "talent, hard work and ‘outside-the-box’ thinking" to create new opportunities. They help make New Jersey a better place to live and work.

See also

In Spanish: Alice H. Parker para niños