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1911: Charles Kettering invents the electric starter for automobiles. What is so simple and taken for granted now wasn't then:

Early automobiles required a hand crank for starting. Occasionally, when the spark lever was not properly set, the hand crank kicked back, causing serious injury: a broken wrist, arm, or shoulder. On a winter night in 1908, the result was much worse: Byron Carter, founder of Cartercar, came across a stalled motorist on Belle Isle in the middle of the Detroit River. He gallantly offered to crank the car for the stranded driver. When she forgot to retard the spark, the crank kicked and broke Carter's jaw. Complications developed, and Carter later died of pneumonia. When Cadillac chief, Henry M. Leland, heard the news, he was distraught. Byron Carter was a friend; the car that kicked back was a Cadillac. "The Cadillac car will kill no more men if we can help it," he told his staff.Leland's engineers were able to build an electric self-starter, but the device was not small enough to be practical. He called Charles Kettering. The engineers at Delco worked around the clock to get the job done by the February 1911 deadline. Kettering later described their work thus: They didn't have a job so much as the job had them. Kettering's key insight lay in devising an electrical system that performed the three purposes it continues to serve in modern cars: starter and, as generator, producer of spark for ignition as well as current for lighting. Leland approved their product for his 1912 model and placed an order for 12,000 self-starters. Delco, the research and development outfit, had to quickly learn the business of production. Kettering also invented electric lights for automobiles that would allow drivers to drive safely at night. (saving even more lives;!!! funny how death sparks remedial innovation in humans)

Kettering's self-starter won a Dewar Trophy in 1913. ( for some reason: my dad's favorite brand too)

"...to the motor car which should successfully complete the most meritorious performance or test furthering the interests and advancement of the [automobile] industry"...ie the self starter & lights

Considering I assist my wife out of the garage every morning in her Subaru thank goodness! At least she can start the thing herself...were talkin' about true women's liberation here BBY...and my body parts! It was one of the most significant innovations in the history of the automobile. It was a complete game changer. Within a few years, Cadillac featured women in their advertising showing them as drivers, instead of passengers orbystanders.” video:> http://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/home.detail.html/content/Pages/news/us/en/2012/Feb/0215_cad_starter.html