History Of the United States Presidents And Air Conditioning Did you know that Air Conditioning of A Sort first came to the White House through a tragedy to cool the stifling sick room of a mortally wounded. President Garfield The US Navy Engineers prepared an improvised air conditioner in the summer of 1881. An electric blower forced air through a box with thin cotton sheets that were kept wet with ice and cold water pumped through a duct into Garfield's bedroom. The device pushed the temperature down to 80 and lowered the humidity.