Tallahassee in Leon County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Dr. John Gorrie

Florida Physician

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 2, 2021

1. Dr. John Gorrie Marker

Inscription. Dr. John Gorrie designed a refrigeration machine to treat malaria and yellow fever patients in Apalachicola. He received the first U.S. patent for mechanical refrigeration in 1851.

Artist: Steven Weitzman
Year: Completed 2006
Medium: Terrazzo

Commissioned in 2005 with funds provided by
Florida’s Art in State Building Program

Erected 2006 by Florida's Art in State Building Program.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Science & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1851.

Location. 30° 26.721′ N, 84° 18.32′ W. Marker is in Tallahassee, Florida, in Leon County. It can be reached from West Call Street east of Stadium Drive, on the right when traveling east. Marker is mounted beneath the Dr. John Gorrie terrazzo mural on the north side of the Florida State University Medical School Research Building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1115 West Call Street, Tallahassee FL 32304, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Florida.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Elizabeth Blackwell (a few steps from this marker); Hippocrates (a few steps from this marker); Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac (within shouting distance of this marker); Robert Sanderson Mulliken

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(within shouting distance of this marker); Konrad Emil Bloch (within shouting distance of this marker); John Robert Schrieffer (within shouting distance of this marker); James M. Buchanan (within shouting distance of this marker); Sir Harold W. Kroto (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tallahassee.

Also see . . .
1. John Gorrie, M.D. • Inventor, Humanitarian, Physician. Gorrie’s invention began with an attempt to cure Yellow Fever during an outbreak in Apalachicola in 1841. Convinced that cold was a healer, he advocated the use of ice to cool sickrooms and reduce fever. Ice was shipped by boat from northern lakes until Gorrie’s successful experimentations with the rapid expansion of gases to create refrigeration. The state of Florida honored Gorrie as a notable person in Florida’s history by donating the statue of John Gorrie to the National Statuary Hall collection located in the United States Capitol Building. (Submitted on May 24, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. John Gorrie • American physician. In 1842 Gorrie designed and built an air-cooling apparatus for

Dr. John Gorrie • Florida Physician image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 2, 2021

2. Dr. John Gorrie • Florida Physician

Marker mounted below terrazzo mural.

treating yellow-fever patients. His basic principle—that of compressing a gas, cooling it by sending it through radiating coils, and then expanding it to lower the temperature further—is the one most often used in refrigerators today. He was granted the first U.S. patent for mechanical refrigeration in 1851. He did not profit from his invention. A long tour of Southern cities in an effort to secure financial support for a factory to manufacture his inventions proved fruitless. (Submitted on May 24, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 2, 2021

3. Dr. John Gorrie • Florida Physician

Rightmost of 3 markers on north side of Medical School Research Building. Marker obscured by bushes.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 27, 2021. It was originally submitted on May 24, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 493 times since then and 37 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 24, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.