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United States Martin Cooper is an American engineer recognized for leading the team that developed the first mobile cell phone, fundamentally changing global communication.
Innovator of the Jitterbug cell phone (in partnership with Samsung). GreatCall is the first complete end-to-end value-added service provider in the cellular industry to focus on simplicity with its primary emphasis on senior citizens.
Cooper led the team that designed and assembled the first portable cell phone, the DynaTAC, and led the 10-year process of bringing it to market.
Founded by Cooper after leaving Motorola, CBSI became the leading company in billing cellular phone services, which he and his partners eventually sold to Cincinnati Bell for $23 million.
Co-founded by Cooper, ArrayComm is a wireless technology company whose signal processing software, IntelliCell, developed smart antenna technology with 400 patents issued or pending, worldwide.
Co-founded by Martin Cooper and his wife, Arlene Harris, Dyna LLC serves as a home base for their developmental and support activities for various new companies, including Subscriber Computing Inc., Cellular Pay Phone, Inc., SOS Wireless Communications, and Accessible Wireless.
Martin Cooper was born on December 26, 1928, in Chicago, Illinois. He earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in 1950. After serving in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, Cooper joined Teletype Corporation before beginning his career at Motorola in 1954. He continued his education, receiving a master’s degree in electrical engineering from IIT in 1957. At Motorola, Cooper dedicated his work to wireless communications, contributing to notable projects such as the first radio-controlled traffic-light system, which he patented in 1960, and developing handheld police radios introduced in 1967. His career progression at Motorola culminated in a role as vice president and director of research and development from 1978 to 1983.
Cooper’s most significant achievement came in the early 1970s. While working at Motorola, he led the team that designed and built the first mobile cell phone. On April 3, 1973, Cooper made the first public cell phone call using a prototype device, the DynaTAC, from a New York City sidewalk. This moment was crucial as it demonstrated the potential for personal, portable communication, challenging the existing car phone technology and AT&T’s approach to mobile telephony. The DynaTAC, which weighed 1.1 kg (2.5 pounds) and offered 35 minutes of talk time, was eventually introduced to consumers in 1983 as the DynaTAC 8000x, priced at $3,995.
After leaving Motorola in 1983, Cooper founded Cellular Business Systems, Inc. (CBSI), which became a prominent billing service provider for cellular phones. He later sold CBSI to Cincinnati Bell in 1986. Together with his wife, Arlene Harris, he established Dyna, LLC, a company that launched other ventures, including ArrayComm in 1996, focusing on software for wireless systems, and GreatCall in 2006, which developed the Jitterbug phone for elderly users. Cooper’s pioneering work earned him numerous accolades, including the Charles Stark Draper Prize from the National Academy of Engineering in 2013, solidifying his legacy as the “father of the cellular phone.”
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