Martin Cooper (inventor)

Martin Cooper
Cooper in 2007
Born (1928-12-26) December 26, 1928 (age 95)
Other namesMarty Cooper
EducationIllinois Institute of Technology (BS, MS)
Occupations
  • Inventor
  • entrepreneur
  • executive
Known forInventor of the first handheld cellular mobile phone
TitleMotorola
Founder & CEO of ArrayComm
Co-founder and chairman of Dyna LLC
Spouse
(m. 1991)
AwardsMarconi Prize (2013), ITU 150 Awards (2015)[1]
Websitewww.dynallc.com

Martin Cooper (born December 26, 1928) is an American engineer. He is a pioneer in the wireless communications industry, especially in radio spectrum management, with eleven patents in the field.[2][3]

On April 3, 1973, he placed the first public call from a handheld portable cell phone while working at Motorola, from a Manhattan sidewalk to his counterpart at competitor Bell Labs.[4][5] Cooper reprised the first handheld cellular mobile phone (distinct from the car phone) in 1973 and led the team that re-developed it and brought it to market in 1983.[6][7] He is considered the "father of the (handheld) cell phone".[2][6][8][9]

Cooper is co-founder of numerous communications companies with his wife and business partner Arlene Harris;[10] He is co-founder and current Chairman of Dyna LLC, in Del Mar, California. Cooper also sits on committees supporting the U.S. Federal Communications Commission[11] and the United States Department of Commerce.

In 2010, Cooper was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering for leadership in the creation and deployment of the cellular portable hand-held telephone.