Statue of John Gorrie to remain in US Capitol

A statue of inventor John Gorrie will remain in the US Capitol.

The Florida legislature this week agreed to remove John Gorrie’s name from a bill that would have replaced Florida’s two statues in the National Statuary Hall at the US Capitol.

Dr Gorrie lived in Apalachicola in the mid 1800’s – he invented a method of making ice that is still used today.

He is widely credited as being the father of air conditioning.

Franklin County Commissioners called John Gorrie one of the most significant Floridians to have ever lived – and because of him not only is Florida habitable year round but also the third most populated state in the US.

A statue of Dr. Gorrie is one of two from the state of Florida in the National Statuary Hall at the US Capitol.

It was placed there in 1914.

The other Florida statue is of Confederate general Edmund Kirby Smith and there have been calls to remove his statue as part of a broader program of removing confederate symbols.

Legislators this year were considering a bill that would have removed both statues from the Capitol and replace them with other Floridians.

After opposition from the Franklin County commission and help from Senator Bill Montford and Rep. Halsey Beshears, the legislature agreed to remove John Gorrie’s name from the bill, but still plan to replace the statue of Edmund Kirby Smith.

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