Earl E. Bakken (born Hennepin County, Minnesota, January 10, 1924) is an American engineer, businessman and philanthropist of Norwegian American ancestry. He founded Medtronic, where he developed the first wearable artificial pacemaker in 1957.
Born in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, Bakken had a long-held fascination with electricity and electronics; a self-described "nerd", Bakken designed a rudimentary electroshock weapon in school to fend off bu...
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Earl E. Bakken (born Hennepin County, Minnesota, January 10, 1924) is an American engineer, businessman and philanthropist of Norwegian American ancestry. He founded Medtronic, where he developed the first wearable artificial pacemaker in 1957.
Born in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, Bakken had a long-held fascination with electricity and electronics; a self-described "nerd", Bakken designed a rudimentary electroshock weapon in school to fend off bullies. After earning a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1948, he studied electrical engineering with a minor in mathematics at the University of Minnesota Graduate School. Post-World War II hospitals were just starting to employ electronic equipment, but did not have staff to maintain and repair them. Sensing an opportunity, Bakken and his brother-in-law, Palmer Hermundslie, formed Medtronic (the combination of "medical" and "electronic") in a small garage, primarily working with the University of Minnesota hospital.
In the...
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