Colonel Edward Deeds
Dayton, United States
<br><center> Colonel Edward Deeds (1874-1960) was among the core of Dayton's brilliant leadership in the first half of the 20th century. As vice president of NCR, Deeds' mentored Charles Kettering, hiring him back every time the fickle John Patterson fired him.<br><br> During this time, Dayton's famous “Barn Gang,” a brilliant group of inventors led by Kettering and Deeds worked out of Deeds' barn at his Moraine farm. Success with the Barn Gang led Deeds and Kettering to leave NCR in 1915 and form the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company - DELCO.<br><br> Deed's [sic] greatest accomplishment was the formation of the Miami Conservancy District after the great flood of 1913, responsible for flood protection in the Miami Valley. Deeds was the District's first director and president.</center>