Charles Kettering (1876-1958) American inventor, engineer, and businessman who held 186 patents and founded Delco (Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company).

Major innovations:

• Electric starter for automobiles (1912) - eliminated dangerous hand cranking

• First practical engine-driven generator

• Freon refrigerant for refrigerators and air conditioners

• Leaded gasoline (later recognized as harmful)

• Variable-speed transmissions

• Quick-drying automotive paint (Duco)

Headed research at General Motors from 1920-1947, where he established one of the first modern industrial research laboratories. Co-founded Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research with Alfred P. Sloan.

Known for memorable quotes about innovation:

• "If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong"

• "A problem well stated is a problem half solved"

• "The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress"

Philosophy emphasized practical problem-solving and challenging conventional thinking. Believed in "failing forward" - learning from failures to achieve breakthroughs. Despite the later recognition of leaded gasoline's dangers, his approach to systematic industrial research transformed how companies innovate.

His legacy: proving that organized research and development could be a profitable business strategy, not just an expense.