Kettner was born in 1864 in
Ann Arbor, Michigan, to John F. and Frederika Kettner, both
German immigrants. His parents moved to
St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1873. His father died when he was 13, so he had to leave school to work, first as a bell boy, then he drove a dray horse. He came to San Diego when he was 21, in the middle of an economic boom in the late 1880s, and worked various odd jobs around the state.
Family In 1893, he married Ida B. Griffs in
Visalia, California, and went into the real estate and insurance business there. The couple divorced in 1904. Kettner married Marion Morgan in 1905, and they lived in Visalia until moving to San Diego in 1907. William Kettner set up an insurance business, and later became involved with real estate and banking. The next year the city was visited by the U.S. Navy's
Great White Fleet - its first U.S. stop on a round-the-world cruise. Kettner was inspired by the visit and volunteered to organize the city's reception festivities for the fleet. He then became a member of the board of the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, and served as its director.
Tenure in Congress Kettner was first elected to the
House of Representatives in 1912. Although he was a
Democrat and
Republicans had traditionally represented the district, he was supported by many Republicans, including the conservative
San Diego Union, because of his popularity with the Chamber of Commerce and the turmoil in the national Republican party caused by
Theodore Roosevelt's split of the party into "stand-patters" and Progressives. Republicans used the slogan "Why not Kettner?" Kettner won by 3,500 votes. He was re-elected in 1914 by 24,000 votes; in 1916 by 9,000 votes; and in 1918 when he ran unopposed. During his four terms in Congress, 1913–1921, he spent much effort bringing naval bases to San Diego. His first accomplishment, achieved by lobbying even before he was sworn in as a member of Congress, was a federal appropriation to dredge
San Diego Bay to allow large ships to enter. He continued to promote San Diego and Southern California interests (the Congressional district then encompassed ten counties) throughout his tenure. Kettner won friends easily with his warm personality and addressed colleagues as "brother", earning him the nickname of "Brother Bill" in San Diego and
Washington D.C. He courted many congressmen and officials, lobbying them over dinner and gifting them with California produce such as oranges and wine. He became friends with
Franklin D. Roosevelt, then
Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Roosevelt visited San Diego during the 1915
Panama–California Exposition and came away impressed with the area's potential as a Navy base. He helped Kettner's efforts to establish bases in San Diego as assistant naval secretary and later as the
president of the United States. He stepped down as congressman in 1920 due to poor health and a financial downturn with his insurance business. By the time Kettner retired from Congress in 1921, he had secured many naval bases, including
Camp Kearny on the site which is now
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar as well as
Naval Base San Diego,
Naval Medical Center San Diego,
Naval Training Center San Diego, and
Naval Air Station North Island, and the Broadway Naval Supply Depot. The military later became for a time the largest employer in
San Diego County. Kettner was nicknamed the "Million Dollar Congressman" for his ability to gain naval bases in San Diego. == Death and burial ==