KETTERING

town and borough (district), administrative and historic county of Northamptonshire, England. From the 17th century Kettering was a centre for the production of woolen cloth, and later of silk and plush. Since the Industrial Revolution, however, the town has been associated, like all its Northamptonshire neighbours, with leatherworking and the footwear industry. As the latter declined, Kettering sought more modern industries, competing since 1950 against Corby, a designated new town only 8 miles (13 km) away, for which Kettering serves as the railhead. Kettering has remained a prosperous town, with good road as well as rail connections. The borough also includes the towns of Desborough and Rothwell and a mainly rural area stretching north to the border of Leicestershire. Area borough, 90 square miles (234 square km). Pop. (1991) town, 47,186; (1998 est.) district, 82,400. city, Montgomery county, southwestern Ohio, U.S. It lies immediately south of Dayton, in the Miami River valley. Stone quarries first attracted settlers to the site, which was organized in 1841 as Van Buren Township. In 1952 it was incorporated as a village and renamed in honour of the industrial scientist Charles F. Kettering. Although the city is mainly residential, there has been planned industrial development, including testing laboratories and the manufacture of electric motors and generators, precision tools, automotive and aircraft accessories, and building materials. In the city are the Kettering College of Medical Arts (1967), the Cox Coronary Heart Institute, and the Charles F. Kettering Memorial Hospital, known for its medical research facilities. Inc. city, 1955. Pop. (1992 est.) 61,512.