The concept of ice as frozen water was not "created" by any one person since it is a natural substance existing in nature. However, artificial ice production and the commercial ice trade have notable creators and pioneers.
- Natural ice has been harvested and used by humans since ancient times, with civilizations like the Chinese, Egyptians, Indians, and Persians developing techniques to collect and store ice for preservation and cooling purposes as early as 1000 BC to 400 BC.
- The commercial ice trade began in the early 19th century, pioneered by Frederic Tudor, known as the "Ice King." He started shipping natural ice from New England to warmer regions starting in 1806, creating a large-scale industry of ice harvesting, transport, and sale.
- The first artificial ice production system was developed in the mid-19th century. Dr. John Gorrie, a physician, patented an early mechanical refrigeration machine in 1851 to make ice mechanically for medical purposes, although his invention was not commercially successful.
- The first commercial refrigeration system to produce ice artificially was patented by Alexander Twining in 1853, followed by others like James Harrison who built ice-making machines in the 1850s.
Thus, natural ice was naturally created by freezing water, but the commercial ice trade was started by Frederic Tudor, and artificial ice production was pioneered by inventors such as John Gorrie and Alexander Twining.
