Engineering
Carl von Linde
Engineer, inventor of industrial refrigeration
Born 1842 · Died 1934
Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain
Carl von Linde invented practical refrigeration and then a process for liquefying air, which made industrial oxygen and nitrogen possible. Modern food supply, hospitals and steelmaking all depend on what he built.
Key achievements
- Invented industrial refrigeration and the air liquefaction process
- Founded Linde, today a global industrial gases company
- Taught Rudolf Diesel and built Germany's first engineering laboratory
Universities
Munich
Professor of mechanical engineering from 1868, where he taught Rudolf Diesel and founded a refrigeration laboratory.
Facts
- His first customers were breweries, which needed cold cellars to make lager in summer.
- The Linde company he founded still exists and is one of the largest industrial gas suppliers in the world.
- He took leave from his professorship to build the business, then returned to teaching afterwards.
Photographs
Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences; the author and licence are shown on each image.