On Aug. 8, 1945, the Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research (SKI) was established. A gift of $4 million from Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., Chair of General Motors and a trustee on the board of Memorial Hospital, provided the initial funds for the construction of the institute and its early operating costs.

Engineer Charles F. Kettering – Director of Research at GM as well as inventor of the key-operated ignition switch and anti-knock gasoline – was the institute’s co-founder. He served as a member of SKI’s Committee on Scientific Policy for many years.