industry. He also discovered that gas burning through a platinum mantle produced a bright illumination (as later found in the Coleman lantern). He bought an old steamship in which he installed his refrigerating units and began shipping fresh fruit from New York to Galveston, and fresh beef back. This was an historical first where people were able to eat fresh beef that hadn't been packed in preservative salts. His steamship venture failed due to his lack of knowledge about shipping, but the industry was picked up by several other countries. Lowe also manufactured products that ran on hydrogen gas. With these and his several patents, Lowe amassed a fortune. For his achievements, Lowe received the coveted Elliott Cresson Medal for the Invention Held to be Most Useful to Mankind. Lowe's gas process In 1873, Lowe developed and patented the Lowe's water gas process which is a modification of the water gas process by which large amounts of hydrogen enriched gas could be generated for residential and commercial use in heating and lighting. Unlike the common coal gas, or coke gas which was used in municipal service, this gas provided a more efficient heating fuel that was also suitable for illumination. The basic water gas reaction is: C + H2O → CO + H2 The Lowe process is a three-stage modified water gas process in which 'blue' water gas is modified by addition of pyrolized oils to render a yellow flame usable for domestic lighting as well as heating. Blue water gas is a term used for water gas produced from clean-burning fuels such as anthracite, coke and charcoal and produces a blue flame. The Lowe process is performed in a series of three chambers, the generator, the carburettor and the superheater. The original air blast is used to produce air gas in the generator. The heat of primary combustion heats the coal sufficiently, while the air gas is burned by a second air blast in the other two chambers in which the oil for carburetting is decomposed. These chambers contain a quantity of loose fire brick called "checker work," and the air gas is burned in them during the time the air blast is on the main producer. When the coal and checker work are hot enough, the air blast is shut off and the steam blast is turned on. Heat stored in the checker work pyrolyzes the mixture of