Carl Von Linde

German engineer and inventor.

Linde invented the first portable compressor refrigerator, a methyl ether refrigeration machine, in 1873, and three years later he designed a more reliable system, the Kühlschrank, which was the first practical ammonia-compressor driven refrigerator. In 1878 he established the Society for Lindes Ice Machines, now the Linde AG conglomerate, which was and remains a leading manufacturer of refrigerators on the European continent. In 1894 he developed a process using the Joule-Thomson effect to liquefy gases, and in the following year he used this technique to produce liquid air in mass quantities. In 1902 he and his staff at Linde AG developed a system that separates liquid oxygen and nitrogen from liquefied air.

In 1897, Linde was appointed to the Merit Order of the Bavarian Crown and ennobled in accordance with its statutes.

In addition to Linde's technical and engineering abilities, he was a successful entrepreneur. He formed many successful partnerships in Germany and internationally, working effectively to exploit the value of his patents and knowledge through licensing arrangements.

He died 16 November 1934, Munich.