The telecommunications giant known today as Motorola began in 1928 as the brainchild of Paul V. Originally known as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation, the Chicago, Illinois based firm had only five employees during its first year of business, producing radios and radio accessories (www.motorola.com). The next three-quarters of a century would see Motorola become one of the leading firms in the wireless technology industry.
Paul Galvin and his brother Joseph incorporated their firm on September 25, 1928. Their premier product was a "battery eliminator- which allowed users to operate a radio from a household electrical current instead of the traditional battery. Two years later, Galvin Manufacturing Corporation introduced the first successful car radio. Galvin named the new radio "Motorola-, in an attempt to signify the union of motion and sound. The Motorola name then became the brand name for all of GMC's products.
The 1940's saw many changes for Motorola. A professor from the University of Connecticut, Daniel E. Noble, joined on with Galvin Manufacturing as the director of research, and his new ideas would soon change not only Motorola's product line, but their financial success as well (www.aes.org). Noble was a trailblazer in the newly developing fields of semiconductors and FM radio. The early 1940's brought several successes for Motorola, with its consumer line of two-way FM radios, and the very first "walkie-talkie- which gained popularity as it was used by U.S. soldiers fighting overseas. After a failed attempt at producing gasoline-burning car heaters in 1946, Galvin decided that he would stick solely with electronics (www.motorola.com). .
Galvin's decision proved to be a wise one indeed, and the following year Motorola's first television sold more than one hundred thousand units. That same year, the Motorola trademark became so popular that Galvin Manufacturing Corporation became Motorola, Inc.
