Charles F. Kettering

He suffered from headaches during his school days, which was due to poor eyesight.

In 1905, he married Olive Williams. The couple had one child together.

In 1914, his house, 'Ridgeleigh Terrace' was constructed. It is believed that this was one of the first houses in America to have air conditioning.

Charles F. Kettering was born in Loudonville, Ohio, U.S.A as the fourth son of Jacob Kettering and Martha Hunter Kettering.

He was a voracious reader and an inquisitive child, who always wanted to find alternative and better ways of doing things. He attended the Loudonville High School, Loudonville.

After he graduated from high school, he took up a teaching job at Bunker Hill School, where his sister, Emma was already working. The job paid for his later college expenses.

He initially attended The College of Wooster and later enrolled at The Ohio State University, from where he dropped out due to problems with eyesight. He took up a job as a foreman of a telephone line crew.

The abrupt ending of his studies due to eye problems, initially took a toll on him, making him depressed. However, he decided to utilise his electrical engineering skills practically.

In 1904, immediately after graduation he was employed at the research laboratory at the National Cash Register. During his five year tenure, he obtained 23 patents for the company.

In 1907, he was advised by his colleague, Edward A. Deeds to work on automobile improvements, stressing on the market for the same. They worked with other engineers on the project and were soon known as, ‘Barn Gang'.

In 1909, he resigned from his job at the National Cash Register and continued to work full-time on automobile improvements and developments. The ‘Barn Gang' registered themselves as Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company, or Delco.

In 1911, he invented and filed a patent for the world’s first electric starter. The following year, the models for the product were approved and installed by The General Motors Company, Cadillac, for production.

In 1914, he helped in the creation of The Flxible Co. He was appointed as the president of the company and also became a member of the board of directors. Since the company was in its initial stages, he even provided funding for the same.

The Delco ignition system, which he invented, was one of the first electric starters. This is also referred to as the Kettering ignition system, first sold in 1910.