18 Quotes & Sayings By Charles Kettering

Charles Kettering (1876–1958) was an American engineer and inventor best known for his work on the electric starter. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of a carpenter. He was educated at the Detroit Institute of Technology and at the University of Michigan. In 1899 he moved to Dayton, Ohio to work with a bicycle factory Read more

In 1902 he became manager of Standard Steel Cycles, a manufacturer of bicycles and motorcycle parts. He married in 1913 and had two children, both born in Dayton. In 1917 Kettering retired from Standard Cycles and began experimenting with electric self-propelled vehicles.

In 1918 he started work on an automobile that would use internal combustion engines while simultaneously recharging its batteries through a generator. The engine was to be driven by a belt from a generator mounted along the outside of the car, while the car itself would be driven by a separate motor mounted on a shaft between the front wheels. At first he concentrated on building a shopping cart but later turned his attention to designing an entire vehicle for this purpose.

In 1920 he took his idea to several auto manufacturers who were not interested in it because it was considered too risky and expensive. In 1922 Kettering set up his own company, Dayton Engineering Laboratories Incorporated (Delco), which manufactured automotive electrical products for other companies to use in their vehicles. Delco also made parts for automobiles but did not manufacture them itself until 1935 when it started making an electric starter for Ford cars.

The product went into mass production in 1939 and won Delco one million dollars worth of business during World War II when Ford cars were rationed for military use only to be discontinued after the war ended in 1945. Delco also contributed to other industries such as aviation, heavy trucks, farm equipment, aviation engines, tractors, electric lights and power plants. Whereas most inventions are lost once they are no longer profitable or useful, Delco has continued to thrive since its creation nearly 120 years ago with dozens of products still in production today.

1
If you want to kill any idea in the world, get a committee working on it. Charles Kettering
2
Our imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to have in the future. Charles Kettering
3
It is not a disgrace to fail. Failing is one of the greatest arts in the world. Charles Kettering
4
We need to teach the highly educated man that it is not a disgrace to fail and that he must analyze every failure to find its cause. He must learn how to fail intelligently, for failing is one of the greatest arts in the world. Charles Kettering
5
High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation. Charles Kettering
6
The biggest job we have is to teach a newly hired employee how to fail intelligently. We have to train him to experiment over and over and to keep on trying and failing until he learns what will work. Charles Kettering
7
People think of the inventor as a screwball, but no one ever asks the inventor what he thinks of other people. Charles Kettering
8
A person must have a certain amount of intelligent ignorance to get anywhere. Charles Kettering
9
Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress. Charles Kettering
10
You can't have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time. Charles Kettering
11
Keep on going and the chances are you will stumble on something, perhaps when you are least expecting it. I have never heard of anyone stumbling on something sitting down. Charles Kettering
12
Thinking is one thing no one has ever been able to tax. Charles Kettering
13
The opportunities of man are limited only by his imagination. But so few have imagination that there are ten thousand fiddlers to one composer. Charles Kettering
14
An inventor is simply a fellow who doesn't take his education too seriously. Charles Kettering
15
One fails forward toward success. Charles Kettering
16
The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress. Charles Kettering
17
We should all be concerned about the future because we will have to spend the rest of our lives there. Charles Kettering