An engineer, industrial pioneer, and apostle of progress, Charles F. Kettering (1876-1958), first as an independent inventor and later as General Motors Corporation's research chief, conducted research which established him as one of the most creative Americans of his generation.

Charles Francis Kettering, born on August 29, 1876, on a farm near Loudonville, Ohio, taught three years in country and small-town schools to finance his higher education. Entering Ohio State University at age 22, he dropped out in his sophomore year because of poor eyesight. He worked two years as a telephone lineman, then returned to Ohio State, graduating at age 28 in 1904.

The NCR and Delco Era

Upon receiving his degree, Kettering became an experimental engineer with National Cash Register Company (NCR) in Dayton. During his five years with NCR he created a low-cost printing cash register; electrified the cash register, doing away with the hand crank; developed a system that...