Jacob Perkins (1766-1849): Born at Newburyport, Massachusettes, USA. Considered to be an inventive genius with many patents related to boilers and steam engines to his credit. In 1834, he applied for and was granted a patent on a vapour compression refrigeration system. His was the first compression refrigeration system to be built by John Hague in London in 1835. Even though the machine worked and was used to make ice, it attracted little attention at that time.