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Harry W. Coover, and he has just passed away at the ripe old age of 94.

invented in 1942 as a side effect of another project to create transparent plastic gun sights.

sold as a super glue called Eastman 910.

Martin Cooper, who turns 82 on December 26th, is an electrical engineer – having gained his Master’s degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1957.

Cooper’s inspiration for undertaking the project was the Star Trek television series, in which a small, hand-held ”communicator” device was used very much in the manner of a portable phone.

As I walked down the street while talking on the phone, sophisticated New Yorkers gaped at the sight of someone actually moving around while making a phone call. Remember that in 1973 there weren’t cordless telephones, let alone cellular phones. I made numerous calls, including one where I crossed the street while talking to a New York radio reporter – probably one of the more dangerous things I have ever done in my life.

Analog Motorola DynaTAC 8000X Advanced Mobile Phone System mobile phone as of 1983.

Cell phones have evolved immensely since 1983, both in design and function.

A compact disk (cd) is a popular form of digital storage media used for computer files, pictures, and music. The plastic platter is read and written to by a laser in a CD drive. It comes in several varieties including CD-ROM, CD-R, and CD-RW. James Russell invented the compact disk in 1965. James Russell was granted a total of 22 patents for various elements of his compact disk system. However, the compact disk did not become popular until it was mass manufactured by Philips in 1980.