Kettering, Charles Franklin (1876-1958), was an American engineer and inventor. He designed and developed such varied industrial products as farm lighting sets, ethyl gasoline, quick-drying lacquer, and engines for automobiles and trains.
His first inventive position was with the National Cash Register Company (now NCR Corporation) in Dayton, Ohio. He invented several accounting machines but resigned to work on an idea for an automobile ignition system. The resulting invention, the self-starter, enabled him to organize the Charles F. Kettering Laboratories. The organization was made part of the General Motors Corporation in 1916 and soon became one of the most successful industrial research laboratories in the United States. Kettering was named vice president in charge of research. In 1947, he resigned to become a research consultant for General Motors.
Kettering was born on Aug. 29, 1876, near Loudonville, Ohio. He graduated from Ohio State University in 1904. During World War II (1939-1945), he served as a military adviser and as chairman of the National Inventors Council. He died on Nov. 25, 1958.
