Jacob Perkins
| Jacob Perkins | |
|---|---|
| Portrait of Perkins by Thomas Edwards (printed by Pendleton's Lithography), 1826 | |
| Born | July 9, 1766 | 
| Died | July 30, 1849 (aged 83) London, England | 
| Nationality | American | 
| Occupation(s) | Inventor, mechanical engineer, physicist | 
Jacob Perkins (July 9, 1766 – July 30, 1849) was an American inventor, mechanical engineer and physicist based in the United Kingdom. Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Perkins was apprenticed to a goldsmith. He soon made himself known with a variety of useful mechanical inventions and eventually had twenty-one American and nineteen English patents. Sometimes known as the father of the refrigerator. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1813 and a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1819.