I’ve probably written about him before, but this is in a different way, I think.
It is the birthday of Charles F. Kettering, born on August 29, 1879, in Loudonville, Ohio. That is about halfway between Columbus and Cleveland, on the slant for those who don’t know.
Anyway, Kettering — Charles, I’ll call him. — is probably best known as the inventor of the electric self-starter for cars. He was also the longtime director of research for General Motors Corporation.
But this man was a thinker of thinkers. He obtained more than 140 patents throughout his lifetime. But, as mentioned, that self-starter was the big one, patented in 1915.
Getting a car started prior to Charles’ big idea was a big, nasty business. It was difficult, dirty, and dangerous. People often broke their arms, or worse. Some even died from trying to crank start those old cars.
But here is the thing I wonder about. Whenever I hear of a famous person like this, living in a place where my ancestors lived? Well. I wonder if they might have known one another. In this case, either one of my grandfathers, or perhaps, the most likely being my Dad.
Dad was much younger, of course, born in 1922. But not long after he returned from WWII, he worked as a design engineer at Frigidaire, a GM corporation.
Back to Charles. Early in his career, Charles worked at the National Cash Register Company in Dayton, Ohio, where he helped develop the first cash register equipped with an electric motor. And that motor opened the register drawer. One of my grandfathers worked for a time at NCR. So, I often wonder if they saw each other at the coffee stand.
“Morning, Chuck.”
“Good morning, Ed.”
You know. Like that.
Then, Charles Kettering, and his pal Edward A. Deeds, formed Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO). DELCO was a business dedicated to designing equipment for automobiles. My other grandfather, Francis, worked at DELCO for some time. So again. Same thing.
“Charlie, how goes it?”
“Just fine, there, whats-your-name.”
“Frank.”
“Yes, just fine, Frank.”
I’m sure they moved in MUCH different circles. But still, I wonder.
That’s one thing I find interesting about genealogy is the history of it. Census records are my very favorite thing to read. I love to find my ancestors listed there. Then, I will take in every bit of their listing. How much education they had. Or. How much money they made. Working at whatever it was they did. Farmer, innkeeper, grocer. Whatever.
But I always take it much further. I will then go back three pages or so, and forward three pages, and see who was living around them. Up and down the streets, I go, from house to house, knocking on doors. Hearing their neighbors’ names.
Sometimes, I find other relatives. But other times, I find a Charles Kettering or some little gem like that.
I sit and revel at what a great time I’m having exploring the streets of the past. And then I look around and typically say, out loud:
“I am the biggest nerd on the planet.”
Because I am.
And now you know.
Let’s visit Charles Kettering one more time. By the 1920s, electric self-starters would come standard on nearly every new automobile.
He was GM’s Vice President and director of research from 1920 to 1947. While there, he improved engines, came up with quick-drying automobile paints and finishes, discovered “anti-knock” fuels, and much more.
But, much more includes other things. He helped in developing the refrigerant Freon. Oh, it keeps us cold. And. He had an interest in medicine and came up with many inventions and solutions there. Also of great importance, in 1945, he and GM head honcho Alfred P. Sloan established the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research in New York City.
So. Did my Dad know him? Or Grandpa? I’ll never know.
But it sure is fun to wonder.
It is always a good thing to wonder. And wonder.
===========
“I don’t think necessity is the mother of invention. Invention . . . arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness. To save oneself trouble.”
― Agatha Christie, Agatha Christie: An Autobiography
=============
“The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.”
― Albert Einstein
=============
Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind.
“Pooh!” he whispered.
“Yes, Piglet?”
“Nothing,” said Piglet, taking Pooh’s paw. “I just wanted to be sure of you.”
― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
===========
To start, all by itself. And more. Did they know him?
