What triggered the development of the first refrigeration process? smt310?

Malaria

Dr. John Gorrie practiced medicine in Florida.  He experimented with ways to prevent the spread of malaria.  The summer of 1841 was a particularly bad summer for malaria infection.  People had not yet realized that malaria was spread by mosquitoes.  (That discovery didn't occur till the 1890s.)  Dr. Gorrie, noting that malaria was unlikely to occur in colder climates, thought that perhaps cooling the air in the sick rooms of his patients could help them.  He started with the idea of using a fan to blow air across a bucket of ice.  A rudimentary beginning to air cooling and refrigeration ... but as they say, the rest is history!