On 17 August 1915, American inventor and engineer Charles F. Kettering was granted a patent related to the electric self-starter, an innovation that would fundamentally change the automobile. Kettering had already transformed motoring several years earlier: his electric starting system was introduced on the 1912 Cadillac Model 30, eliminating the physically demanding and sometimes dangerous hand crank.
Born in Loudonville, Ohio, Kettering co-founded the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company, better known as Delco, with Edward A. Deeds in 1909. Delco became a major centre of automotive electrical innovation, developing ignition and electrical systems that helped modernise the automobile.
Kettering's influence extended far beyond the self-starter. His later work contributed to developments including anti-knock compounds, quick-drying automotive lacquer and other technologies that shaped vehicle engineering. General Motors eventually acquired Delco in 1918, bringing Kettering's inventive capabilities into a much larger industrial ecosystem.
The electric starter did more than replace a crank: it made motoring considerably more convenient and helped broaden the automobile's appeal, establishing Kettering as one of the defining innovators of early automotive history.
