Charles F. Kettering

Charles F. Kettering. . Charles F. “Boss” Kettering was a prolific inventor. While at National Cash Register, he invented the first electric cash register. Kettering founded the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (Delco) in 1909 and developed the electric self-starter for automobiles, first used in 1912 Cadillacs. He also developed no-knock Ethyl gasoline, lacquer car finishes, four-wheel brakes, safety glass, and high-compression engines; made significant improvements to diesel engines that led to their use in locomotives, trucks, and buses; and collaborated with Thomas Midgley, Jr. in the development of the refrigerant Freon. Kettering served as President of the Society of Automotive Engineers in 1918, co-founded the Engineers' Club of Dayton (1914), and was director of research at General Motors Corporation from 1920 to 1947. His interest in medical and scientific research led to the founding of the Kettering Foundation and the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research., Automobile Self-Starter , [Charles Kettering memorial, funded by The Kettering Family, at RiverScape in Van Cleve Park, about 250 feet west across Monument Avenue from the historical marker above. A cross view of the auto self-starter and his many US Patent numbers circle his portrait] , Curiosity Creativity Perseverance , “There will always be a frontier where there is an open mind and a willing hand” , “You never get anywhere going the obvious way” , “I know the glass [illegible]. What I want to know is why you can see through it”