Heat Treat Today is pleased to join in the celebration of Women’s History Month by turning the spotlight on Alice H. Parker, an African-American woman from Morristown, New Jersey, who received a patent for a gas furnace heating system that played a key role in the development of the central heating systems most of us have in our homes today.
It was nearly 100 years ago that U.S. Patent No. US132590A was issued to Parker, whose furnace design shows gas being used as a power source when most homeowners were stocking up on wood and coal, and includes the idea of using air ducts to deliver the heat to different parts of a home. Officially granted on December 23, 1919, Parker’s patent was not the first for a gas furnace design, but it was unique in that it incorporated a multiple yet individually controlled burner system (see the text of the patent here). Although this exact design was never implemented due to safety issues with the regulation of heat flow, this structure was an important precursor to the modern heating zone system and thermostats as well.
Parker was a 1910 graduate of Howard University.
Sources: Face2FaceAfrica.com, TheFrisky.com,
