Dr. John Gorrie vs. Florida’s wrath

Hailey Heseltine ECB Publishing, Inc.  Does it come as any surprise to you that the invention of air conditioning had its beginnings through an inventor from Florida? Probably not. About this time of year, the soupy heat of summer starts settling in, and it's no wonder that months of the exhausting weather could make one's mind start drifting toward possible solutions. For Dr. John Gorrie, however, inspiration struck from another place.  Descended from Scottish parents, Dr. Gorrie may have been born on the Island of Nevis on Oct. 3, 1803, and likely grew up in Charleston, S.C. As a young man, he enrolled in the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Western District of New York