Felix John Watts (August 4, 1892 - August 17, 1966) was an accomplished inventor with several U.S. patents granted for items such as motion picture projectors, vehicle ignition systems, light switches, locking mechanisms, etc.

Early years

Felix Watts was born in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

to Samuel Watts and Elizabeth Mills. After the death of his mother Elizabeth (daughter of David Mills, Canadian politician) in 1907, his father moved the family to

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...

. After high school, Felix attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

where he was an engineering major and captain of the school's international soccer team.

Inventing years

During his years of invention, Felix worked primarily in the electrical and automotive industries and sold many of his inventions to

Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, business magnate, founder of the Ford Motor Company, and chief developer of the assembly line technique of mass production. By creating the first automobile that mi ...

, whom he became close friends with.

Death

Felix died as a result of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

Yale, Michigan Yale is a city in St. Clair County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,955 at the 2010 census. Yale is considered unofficially as the Bologna Capital of the world, in part due to its Yale Bologna Festival, which began in 1989. Ya ...

a few months after the death of his wife Sarah Dunford.

References

Motion picture projector patent

Vehicle ignition system patent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Felix University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni People from Windsor, Ontario 1892 births 1966 deaths Canadian emigrants to the United States People from Port Huron, Michigan 20th-century American inventors