Ralph Teetor was a prolific inventor who invented cruise control.
21 Facts About Ralph Teetor
1.
2.
Ralph Teetor was the longtime president of the automotive parts manufacturer The Perfect Circle Co.
3.
Ralph Rowe Teetor was born on August 17,1890, in Hagerstown, Indiana to John H Teetor.
4.
Ralph Teetor graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 1912.
5.
Ralph Teetor returned to the University of Pennsylvania and received a master's degree in engineering around 1930.
6.
Ralph Teetor remained with his family's company until they sold their motor division off in 1918.
7.
In 1918, Teetor went to Camden, New Jersey to help the New York Shipbuilding Corporation balance turbine rotors on torpedo-boat destroyers in World War I Teetor's highly developed sense of touch proved helpful in developing a technique for balancing steam turbine rotors used in Navy torpedo-boat destroyers.
8.
Dynamic balancing of large components had puzzled others before Ralph Teetor solved the problem.
9.
Ralph Teetor designed a fluid-operated gearshift that he sold to Bendix in the 1920s.
10.
Ralph Teetor was president of the company from 1946 to 1957.
11.
Ralph Teetor remained on the board of directors until 1964.
12.
Family lore suggests that Ralph Teetor was inspired to invent cruise control one day while riding with his family's lawyer, Harry Lindsay.
13.
In 1945, after ten years of tinkering, Ralph Teetor received his first patent on a speed control device.
14.
Ralph Teetor received a patent for the "Speedostat" on August 22,1950.
15.
Ralph Teetor managed to live his life almost as if his accident had never happened, and went on to become successful as an engineer, manufacturing executive and entrepreneur.
16.
In 1936, Ralph Teetor was elected as president of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
17.
In 1965, Ralph Teetor received two honorary degrees, Doctor of Engineering at the Indiana Institute of Technology and Doctor of Laws at Earlham College, Indiana.
18.
Ralph Teetor was made a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
19.
In 1988, Ralph Teetor was posthumously inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, Michigan, for his numerous contributions to the automotive industry.
20.
Ralph Teetor married Nellie Van Antwerp of Huntington, Indiana on December 30,1922.
21.
Ralph Teetor died on February 15,1982, at Reid Memorial Hospital in Richmond, Indiana.