Martin Cooper is an American electrical engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, and futurist widely recognized as the father of the handheld cellular telephone. At Motorola, he led the team that developed the first portable cell phone and made the first public handheld call on April 3, 1973. He later founded and advised wireless-technology companies.
Background
Martin Cooper was born on December 26, 1928, in Chicago, Illinois, to Arthur and Mary Cooper. He grew up in the industrial environment of Chicago, where manufacturing, electronics, and radio engineering formed an important part of the city's technological economy.
Cooper served in the United States Navy from 1950 to 1954, including service during the Korean conflict. He later described his naval experience as an important early stage in a career that connected engineering practice, communications technology, and public service.
Education
Cooper received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1950 and a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the same institution in 1957. Illinois Tech was founded in Chicago in 1890 and developed a practical, industry-oriented tradition in engineering and applied science, a setting consistent with Cooper's later career in commercial communications technology.
He maintained a long association with Illinois Tech after graduation, including service as a trustee and later as a life trustee. He also taught at the university's night school, extending his connection with the institution beyond his formal education.
Career
Cooper began his professional career as a research engineer at Teletype Corporation in Chicago from 1953 to 1954. Teletype was part of the communications-equipment industry that supplied electromechanical systems for transmitting information over telephone and telegraph networks.
He joined Motorola in 1954 and remained there until 1983. During three decades with the company, he worked on portable and mobile radio systems, paging, police communications, radio-controlled traffic signals, and other wireless technologies. He became operations director from 1967 to 1976, division manager from 1977 to 1978, and vice president and corporate director of research and development from 1978 to 1983.
At Motorola, Cooper led the team that developed the first practical handheld cellular telephone. On April 3, 1973, in New York City, he made the first public call from a portable cellular phone, using a prototype that was distinct from the car telephones then associated with mobile communications. The work helped establish the technical and commercial basis for handheld cellular service, and Motorola introduced the DynaTAC 8000X as the first commercially available handheld cellular phone in 1983.
After leaving Motorola, Cooper became chairman and chief executive officer of Cellular Business Systems, Inc., a company associated with cellular billing and management systems. He also served as chairman and chief executive officer of Cellular Pay Phone, Inc. from 1986 to 1992. In 1986, he and Arlene Harris co-founded Dyna LLC, a technology incubator and consulting enterprise based in Del Mar, California.
Cooper became a co-founder and executive chairman of ArrayComm, where he worked on wireless signal-processing and smart-antenna technologies intended to improve the range, capacity, and quality of cellular and broadband systems. He also co-founded and served as a director of GreatCall, whose Jitterbug service was designed to provide simpler wireless communications for older users.
Cooper's later work included advising public and private organizations on wireless communications, spectrum use, and technological innovation. He developed the principle known as Cooper's Law, which describes the long-term growth of wireless communications capacity, and continued to participate in discussions about the social uses and limitations of mobile technology.
Achievements
At Motorola, Cooper led the team that developed the first practical handheld cellular telephone and made the first public call from a portable cellular phone in New York City on April 3, 1973.
Cooper helped develop wireless communications technologies beyond the handheld cellular telephone, including high-capacity paging, portable police radios, radio-controlled traffic signals, and smart-antenna systems.
He introduced Cooper's Law, a principle describing the historical growth of wireless communications capacity and the increasing efficiency of radio-spectrum use.
Cooper co-founded companies that expanded cellular billing, wireless services, smart-antenna technology, and simplified mobile communications for older users.
(Cooper's memoir and account of the invention of the handh...)
2020
Views
Cooper's technological philosophy centers on personal communication, human mobility, and broad access to wireless services. He has argued that wireless systems should be designed around people rather than fixed places and has advocated improved coverage, greater affordability, and practical benefits in education and health care.
He has also discussed the social costs of mobile technology, including loss of privacy, excessive data collection, harmful online content, and the need for age-appropriate access to the internet. His views combine confidence in technological progress with concern for human-centered design and public responsibility.
Membership
Cooper has participated in professional, scientific, governmental, and educational organizations concerned with engineering and communications. His memberships and board service included the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the National Academy of Engineering, the Radio Club of America, the National Research Council, the University of Illinois Chicago, and Illinois Tech.
The IEEE connects professionals in electrical engineering and related technologies, while the National Academy of Engineering advises on issues of national technological importance. Cooper's service on research and university advisory bodies extended his involvement beyond commercial companies into professional education and public technology policy.
Fellow and lifetime member; served as president of the Vehicular Technology Society and on the telecommunications policy board.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
,
United States
Elected a member for leadership in the creation and deployment of the cellular portable handheld telephone.
National Academy of Engineering
,
United States
2010 - present
Participated in the professional organization devoted to radio and wireless communications.
Radio Club of America
,
United States
Served on the Computer-Telecommunications Board.
National Research Council
,
United States
1979 - 1983
Served on the university's industrial advisory board.
University of Illinois Chicago
,
United States
1980 - 1990
Trustee and later life trustee of his alma mater.
Illinois Institute of Technology
,
United States
Personality
Cooper has described himself as a dreamer and an advocate of personal mobility in communications. Public accounts of his career portray him as willing to pursue unconventional technological ideas, particularly the belief that telephones should connect people rather than fixed locations such as homes or cars.
Quotes from others about the person
Illinois Tech President Raj Echambadi described Cooper's contributions as having transformed communication and commerce worldwide. Former Federal Communications Commission chairman Tom Wheeler characterized Cooper as someone who first sees how things should be and then works to make that vision real.
Interests
Wireless communications, technological innovation, spectrum policy, education, health care technology, skiing, and tennis
Sport & Clubs
Skiing and tennis
Connections
Cooper is married to inventor and telecommunications entrepreneur Arlene Harris. They collaborated in founding Dyna LLC and other wireless-technology enterprises, including work connected with Cellular Pay Phone and GreatCall.
From an earlier marriage, Cooper has two children, Scott David Cooper and Lisa Ellen Cooper. His parents were Arthur Cooper and Mary Cooper.
Father:
Arthur Cooper
Mother:
Mary Cooper
Wife:
Arlene Harris
Telecommunications entrepreneur, inventor, investor, and policy advocate; Cooper's business partner and co-founder of Dyna LLC and other wireless companies.
Dyna LLC biography and history
Documents Cooper's continuing association with Dyna LLC, the development of the first handheld cellular phone, his work with Arlene Harris, and the book Cutting the Cord.
