Actually some diesels do have glow plugs in the chamber. Usually lower compression, gas engine-based automotive diesels.
Field-Marshall two-stroke single cylinder diesel engine had a wick! You got a cigarette-sized roll of nitrate-treated paper burning and screwed it in a hole like a spark plug hole, and cranked her up! It could also be started by firing a shotgun shell in a little chamber with a BFH, but that's another story.