Charles Kettering

Before Kettering's invention, automobile engines had to be hand-cranked, which was physically demanding and dangerous — crank kickbacks could cause serious injuries, including broken arms or worse. Kettering's electric self-starter, introduced by Cadillac in 1912, made starting a car as simple as pressing a button.

Delco stands for the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company, which Kettering co-founded in 1909 in Dayton, Ohio. Delco became a major automotive components supplier and was eventually absorbed into General Motors, where Kettering went on to lead research for decades.

Yes, Kettering was instrumental in the development of tetraethyl lead (leaded) gasoline at General Motors in the 1920s, working with chemist Thomas Midgley Jr. While the electric self-starter is regarded as a safety triumph, leaded gasoline later became a major public health and environmental concern and was phased out in the United States beginning in the 1970s.

Kettering became head of General Motors Research, a position he held for nearly three decades until his retirement in 1947. During his tenure, GM Research produced innovations spanning automotive engineering, diesel locomotives, refrigerants, and medical devices, making Kettering one of the most prolific industrial inventors of the 20th century.