ASHRAE Insights

“In the development of the arts no work is to be despised; even the most rubbishy is interesting as a milestone on the march of human progress. Philosophers now generally realize that the histories of nations are in their arts and their literatures. The true history of this special art (of heating and ventilating) is in its literature, and when that is carefully examined, it will be found that its development has been due to the thousands of unknown workers who have been engaged in it, and that ones share in the advancement has been very small indeed.”

—Hugh Barron, cofounder of the American Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers, addressing the first meeting of ASHVE in 1896 on the literature of the industry.