Charles Franklin Kettering

American engineer and inventor, 1876-1958

3 quotes in the MindQuotes library.

About

Charles Franklin Kettering, born on an Ohio farm, was a prolific engineer and inventor. Graduating from Ohio State University in 1904, he worked at NCR before co-founding DELCO in 1909, where he developed the electric self-starter that revolutionized automobiles. As director of research at General Motors from 1920 to 1947, he held about 186 patents, including Freon, Duco lacquer, and the two-stroke diesel engine. He co-founded the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research and the Kettering Foundation.

Major works

Electric self-starter (1912)invention
Freon refrigerant (1928)invention
Duco lacquer (1923)invention
Two-stroke diesel engine (1930)invention

Key milestones

1909Co-founded the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO) with Edward A. Deeds.
1920Became vice president and director of research at General Motors, a position he held until 1947.
1945Co-founded the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research in New York with Alfred P. Sloan.

Themes

Automotive innovationIndustrial researchInventionHealth and philanthropy

Sources: anb.org · britannica.com · detroithistorical.org

“Champions believe in themselves, even if no one else does. At _ An inventor fails 999 times and, and if he succeeds once, he's victorious. He treats his failures as practice shots.”

— Charles Franklin KetteringTheme · Motivation

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“You can send a message around the world in one-fifth of a second, yet it may take years for it to get from the outside of a man's head to the inside.”

— Charles Franklin KetteringTheme · Technology

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“There will always be a Frontier where there is an open mind and a willing hand.”

— Charles Franklin KetteringTheme · Motivation

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