On Aug. 29, 1876, Charles Franklin Kettering, creator of what is now the Delco Products Division of General Motors Corp., was born on a farm near Loudonville, Ohio. To finance his education, Kettering taught at country schools for three years before entering Ohio State University at 22. He dropped out, worked as a telephone lineman, then returned to get his bachelor's degree at 28.

Kettering went to work as an engineer for the National Cash Register Co. in Dayton, where he invented an electric cash register that eliminated hand cranks. On his own, he developed a self-starting auto ignition system. With the backing of NCR general manager Edward A. Deeds, Kettering organized Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co. (Delco) in 1909. His ignition system was offered for the first time on the 1912 Cadillac. His research led to improved auto lighting systems and a lightweight diesel engine. He held 140 patents.

Kettering, for whom the city in Montgomery County is named, died in Dayton in 1958.

Rebecca Goodman

E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com or call 768-8361.