Charles Franklin Kettering (1876–1958) believed that every so-called “failure” was simply a practice shot. The Ohio-born engineer invented the first electrical ignition system, the automobile self-starter, and a practical engine-driven generator—breakthroughs that jump-started the automobile age.

“A man must have a certain amount of intelligent ignorance to get anywhere with progressive things,” he quipped, urging dreamers to dodge dogma and keep tinkering.

After earning his engineering degree from Ohio State in 1904, Kettering joined National Cash Register, where he created the electrically operated cash register—proof that small motors could do big work. Cadillac’s Henry Leland soon tapped the “absolutely unknown electrical genius” to help launch self-starting cars.

With more than 200 patents to his name—including the spark plug, refrigerant Freon, and shatter-resistant safety glass, Kettering knew no ceiling on curiosity: “There exist limitless opportunities in every industry. Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier.”

Alongside General Motors president Alfred Sloan, he co-founded the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, proving that invention can, and should, serve humanity.

His favorite formula? “Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” Each misstep was just muscle memory for the next brilliant leap.