#053

Alice H Parker

1895–1920

If you find yourself cursing the winter temperatures in certain parts of the world, you may want to think Alice H Parker for her efforts to make your home a bit more liveable.

Parker was an African American inventor. On December 23, 1919, she received patent No. US132590A for her gas furnace heating system. The invention would become a pre-cursor for modern central heating, which now dominates the North American market and is used in millions of homes and buildings worldwide.

Based in New Jersey, Parker’s patent used gas instead of wood and coal – the historical norm. While gas was being used in industrial heating applications, it was non-existent for homes and businesses. The patent also detailed the use of air ducts to deliver heat from the furnace to different rooms.

Her invention was not an original as far as gas furnace design, but it uniquely incorporated a multiple, individually controlled burner system. Because of its independently controlled units, users would be able to control the temperature across the building's different rooms.

Unfortunately, Parker’s design was never actually implemented due to safety issues with the regulation of heat flow. The furnace itself was highly flammable, could accidentally burn its user if touched, and risked explosion.

Still, her work – even more notable, given she was a woman of colour who preceded both the Civil Rights Movement and the Women’s Liberation Movement – was an important precursor in the use of natural gas, modern heating, and the systems and controls that we know and use today.

The 1919 patent for Parker's gas furnace heating system.

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