Charles Franklin Kettering (1876–1958) was an American inventor, engineer, businessman, and the holder of 186 patents. He was a founder of Delco, and was head of research at General Motors from 1920 to 1947. Among his most widely used automotive inventions were the electrical starting motor and leaded gasoline. In association with the DuPont Chemical Company, he was also responsible for the invention of Freon refrigerant for refrigeration and air conditioning systems, as well as for the development of Duco lacquers and enamels, the first practical colored paints for mass-produced automobiles. While working with the Dayton-Wright Company he developed the “Bug” aerial torpedo, considered the world’s first aerial missile. He led the advancement of practical, lightweight two-stroke diesel engines, revolutionizing the locomotive and heavy equipment industries. In 1927, he founded the Kettering Foundation, a non-partisan research foundation.
Source: Wikipedia (via CC-BY-SA license) • READ: Books by Charles F. Kettering
Don’t be afraid to stumble. Any inventor will tell you that you don’t follow a plan far before you strike a snag. If, out of 100 ideas you get one that works, it’s enough.
—Charles F. Kettering
The faster you go, the more chance there is of stubbing your toe, but the more chance you have of getting somewhere.
—Charles F. Kettering
The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.
—Charles F. Kettering
We should all be concerned about the future because
we will have to spend the rest of our lives there.
—Charles F. Kettering
Virtually nothing comes out right the first time. Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. The only time you don’t want to fail is the last time you try something … One fails forward toward success.
—Charles F. Kettering
Topics: Success & Failure, Failures, Mistakes, Achievement
My interest is in the future because I’m going to spend the rest of my life there.
—Charles F. Kettering
Topics: Vision, The Future, Tomorrow, Future
You can’t have a better tomorrow if
you are thinking about yesterday all the time.
—Charles F. Kettering
Nothing ever built arose to touch the skies unless some man dreamed that it should, some man believed that it could, and some man willed that it must.
—Charles F. Kettering
Related Authors
- Alexander Graham Bell Scottish-born American Inventor
- Thomas Edison American Inventor
- Robert H. Goddard American Inventor
- Soichiro Honda Japanese Inventor
- Friedrich Koenig German Inventor
- Pierre Beaumarchais French Inventor, Diplomat
- Henry Ford American Businessperson
- An Wang Chinese-born American Engineer
- William C. Durant American Entrepreneur, Business
- George Washington Carver American Scientist