Charles F. Kettering cover art

Charles F. Kettering

Self Starter to Inventor Extraordinaire

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Charles F. Kettering

By: Daniel Alef
Narrated by: Baron Ron Herron
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About this listen

Here's a biographical profile of Charles F. Kettering, a man who always sought solutions to great problems. A philosopher, engineer, master salesman, scientist and genius inventor, Kettering, Delco's founder and major shareholder of GM, gave us many things: electric automobile starters, electric headlights, Freon, automatic transmissions, incubators for premature babies, premium gasoline, car generators, electric cash registers, quick-drying paint, diesel-powered trains, magnetic diagnostic devices, and the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research.

Describing his experience with his first inventions, Kettering declared, "It was easier to build the danged thing than it was to argue it through a committee. . ." Kettering also dabbled in biofuels, concerned with America's dependency on foreign oil - and this was in the 1930s. Kettering's story, like that of Thomas Edison, represents the American ideal of innovation.

©2008 Daniel Alef (P)2008 Daniel Alef
Professionals & Academics Science & Technology Technology

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