Thomas Moore
From Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia
Letter from Moore to Jefferson, 21 June 1802. Library of Congress.
Thomas Moore (1760-1822) was a civil engineer and farmer who developed one of the earliest refrigeration devices. It was constructed by placing an oval cedar tub inside a tin box and then covering it with rabbit skin and cloth. He developed it to transport butter from Georgetown to his home in Montgomery County, Maryland.
In a letter dated June 21, 1802, Moore invited Thomas Jefferson to view this new refrigerator.[1] Jefferson made a sketch of the device in the margin of the invitation. Two years later the notation "Paid Isaac Briggs for Thos. Moore 13.D. for a refrigerator" appears in his Memorandum Books.[2]
Footnotes
- ↑ Thomas Moore to Thomas Jefferson, 21 June 1802. Recipient copy at the Library of Congress: http://memory.loc.gov/master/mss/mtj/mtj1/026/0600/0646.jpg.
- ↑ MB, 2:1132. (Isaac Briggs was Moore's brother-in-law.)
Further Sources
- Moore, Thomas. An Essay on the Most Eligible Construction of Ice-houses: Also, a Description of the Newly Invented Machine Called the Refrigerator. Baltimore: Printed by Bonsal & Niles, 1803. This pamphlet was owned by Thomas Jefferson.
- Sandy Spring Museum. "Early 'Doers': Thomas Moore." http://www.sandyspringmuseum.org/d230.html. This page includes a silhouette of Thomas Moore - the only known image of him.
