Charles
F. Kettering’s legacy as a philanthropist
is memorialized in the names of the institutions he supported such as the Kettering Foundation and the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. As an engineer,
I’m more familiar with is reputation as an inventor and innovator,
especially in automotive
engineering.
Kettering’s associate, T. A. Boyd,
memorialized him in the biography
Professional Amateur. I think the
title is intended to convey Kettering’s humility and determination
to not let expertise
or established knowledge get in the way of progress. As an engineer, and
arguably a scientist,
Kettering was devoted to experimentation.
As with others of his era (he was born in 1876), Kettering’s education
was not traditional by current standards. After graduating high school,
he began teaching
in one-room schoolhouses in Ohio such as the
one he had attended. He later attended the College
of Wooster, studying Greek with an eye
toward becoming a pastor,
and eventually graduated from the Ohio
State University with a degree in electrical engineering. Problems with his
eyes caused interruptions in his formal education.
Kettering valued his school experience, but he also valued his
practical experience. He got a job installing poles for a telephone
company and worked his way into installing lines and switchboards. He and
friends undertook amateur experiments in chemistry and
electricity. Even as a child he took great interest in nature.
After introducing us to his early life, the book turns to his career as
an inventor and research engineer. He established what is now Delco, which he
sold to General
Motors. He had a long career leading the research efforts at GM. The final
chapters of the book describe Kettering’s views on business
and education and his career as a public speaker.
Kettering met his wife, Olive,
while working for a rural telephone company. Their son, Gene,
followed his father into engineering and eventually had a successful career in
designing and building diesel-electric locomotives a
General Motors.
Boyd was a friend of Kettering, who was still alive when Professional Amateur was published.
Needless to say, the book is very complimentary to its subject. Few faults are
attributed to the man, except that Kettering is depicted as being so absorbed
in his research that he would overlook social conventions like keeping a nice
suit clean, entertaining guests, or remembering the purpose of his
appointments. The research engineer left his business affairs mostly in the
hands of trusted partners so he could concentrate on the work that interested
him, though Boyd’s depiction indicates Kettering was shrewd about business.
I don’t think the book is intended for children,
but it is written in simple and direct style that might be accessible to many
young readers. It was published in 1957, so more
recent or thorough biographies may be available. For instance, Kettering
introduced tetraethyl
lead to gasoline
as a way to reduce knock and improve fuel efficiency. Though it was considered
safe at the time (as Boyd points out), the lead emissions from automobiles has
be reevaluated sense and we no longer use leaded gasoline. The book was written
before anyone was seriously aware of or concerned about this issue, so it does
not consider it.
If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Boyd, T. A. Professional Amateur:
The Biography of Charles Franklin Kettering. New York: E. P. Dutton
& Co., 1957.
