John Francis Mitchell (born January 1, 1928 in Chicago, IL), son of Irish immigrants, William Mitchell, Cloghboley, Maugherow, Sligo and Bridget Keane, Listowel, Kerry, Ireland. He was an American electronics engineer and President & COO, {-- [link, tip] --} Motorola, 1980-1995, retiring in 1998 as Vice Chairman^[1]. He led the pioneering development and implementation of the Motorola’s mobile phone {-- remember to insert reference to JFM in wiki/mobilephone --}technology producing the first portable pager {-- remember to insert reference to JFM in wiki/Pager; also insert answer in answer.com --}} and cell phone {!-- remember to insert reference to JFM in wiki/Mobile phone --} , and launched the global Iridium Satellite Constellation. During his 45-year career, Mitchell shaped the creation of nearly all of the wireless communications industries in the latter half of the 20th century. {-- provide link to quote: said Motorola spokeswoman Jennifer Erickson, add links --} He was known as a self-effacing charismatic manager and entertainer with a lilting Irish tenor voice^[2]. One poet wrote: "O'John Francis Mitchell, Perhaps the greatest innovator of the 20th century." {-- create links to JFM archives --}

{reminder to call for help on how to properly format a footnote; how do you format a link or citation, so that several citations can link to the same article?}

John F. Mitchell grew up in Chicago, IL in a rough and tumble milieu,^[3] the second of four sons of Irish immigrants. His father, William retired as a patrolman for the Chicago Police Department (CPD)^[4] with 40 years’ service with citations for valor; his three brothers: William, Chairman & CEO, Lake Shore National Bank; James, physician and computer scientist; and Edward, an educator and coach; “the brothers I never had,” lamented Tom Morrison, a member of the Chicago Black Hawk Park Water Polo Team along with the four Mitchell brothers, who all had Olympic aspirations until their bid was interrupted by World War II. Mitchell was a life guard at Chicago's Oak Street Beach while attending the former De Paul Academy, Lincoln Park. A gifted child, his interest in technology was kindled by the “Erector Set he had received as a child.”^[5] Later as a teenager he automated the local A&P Bakery. He received his bachelors degree in electrical engineering (BEE) from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), highest honors in 1950 and then fulfilled his Reserve Officers' Training Corps commitment in the United States Navy as a communication officer for three years.

John F. Mitchell joined Motorola in 1953 as a product development engineer in the company's Communications Division. In 1960, he was named chief engineer of communications products^[6]. He was elected a Motorola vice president in January 1968, and was named general manager of the Communications Division in 1972. Mitchell was elected to the Motorola Board of Directors in May 1974. In February 1975, he was elected executive vice president and assistant chief operating officer of Motorola, Inc. He was promoted to president & chief operating office of Motorola in January 1980. In 1988, he became vice chairman and an officer of the board. In 1995 Mitchell retired from Motorola, but remained on the Motorola board as Vice Chairman and an Officer of the Board. He retired from the Motorola Board of Directors in 1998.

John F. Mitchell became Motorola's chief engineer for its mobile communication products in 1960. He oversaw the development and marketing of the first industry pager^[7] using transistors. Motorola had long produced mobile telephones for automobiles but they were large and consumed too much power. Mitchell's vision was wireless portable miniaturized transistor radio technology enhanced by repeater technology. Mitchell's team which included Martin Cooper {remember to go back and link cooper to JFM; also link to obituary}, Richard W. Dronsurth, Albert J. Mikulski, Roy A. Richardson, and John H. Sangster, extended the concept of the pager, and went on to develop first portable cellular telephony. All these Motorola employees were granted a patent for their team work in 1973. The gifted Martin Cooper is frequently credited {"Call him Dad"^[8] }with the invention, but the self-effacing manager, John F. Mitchell emphasized that it really was a team invention. When Mitchell formulated the idea for the DynaTAC, Motorola's prototype for the first cellular phone, he boasted that his creation would be useful to a "widely diverse group of people--businessmen, journalists, doctors, and housewives, virtually anyone."^[9] About 10 years and $100 million later, (1983), the DynaTAC phone, the world's first commercial hand-held cellular phone, received approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the cellular phone industry was born. On Oct. 13, 1983, Bob Barnett, former president of Ameritech Cellular placed the first commercial wireless call on a DynaTAC from inside a Chrysler convertible to the grandson of Alexander Graham Bell who was in Germany for the event. The call, made at Soldier Field in Chicago, is considered by many as a major turning point in communications, "...sparking a communications revolution that created an entirely new industry and changed the way people communicate."^[10] Later Richard Frenkiel, the head of system development at Bell Laboratories, said about the DynaTAC: "It was a real triumph; a great breakthrough." The seminal phone wasn't immediately a hit, but it placed Motorola at the forefront of the cell-phone revolution^[11] with 300,000 subscribers in 1984. And, finally, Mitchell would never have dreamt that his legacy of patents would be acquired by Google for $12.5 billion in 2011. (reference from Motorola goggle)

[CLEAN UP THIS MESS]On September 28, 2011, President Barack Obama appointed Matthew J. Desch, CEO, Iridium, Inc., to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee; a post previously held by John F. Mitchell under President Ronald Reagan. [- two links here, one to jelly beans, the other to Motorola statement - ]

In 19xx, John F. Mitchell, then vice chairman of Motorola Inc., said: "Iridium brings personal communications to the world – it represents the potential for any person on the planet to communicate with any other." "…. For this reason, Iridium marks the next major milestone in global communications.”

Initially after implementation in 19xx the Iridium Satellite initiative was the darling of Wall Street. [--citation--] Motorola Chairman Robert Galvin said: "It is the 8th Wonder of the World." {page 990 project management} Indeed,the project was one of the most complex projects undertaken by a private company. [citation] It spanned 11 years involving 25,000 components. [citation] Motorola's culture of high quality and error free performance as promoted by its Six-Sigma Institute, assured its technical feasibility. [citation] The initiative subsequently came under scrutiny as not being commercially viable in the short run as the success of Mitchell's lighter weight cell phone eroded the potential market for the heavier iridium cell phone. [--citation needed--] A text book "Project Management" [Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling, Tenth Edition; Chapter 25. The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Iridium - A Project Management Perspective... > INTRODUCTION - Pg. 987insert link}{http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/software-engineering-and-development/project-management/9780470278703/the-rise-fall-and-resurrection-of-iridium-a-project-management-perspective/the_rise_comma_fall_comma_and_resurrecti#X2ludGVybmFsX0ZsYXNoUmVhZGVyP3htbGlkPTk3ODA0NzAyNzg3MDMvOTg3} featured a case study on Iridium, citing it for failures in project management. . The text book went to show that Motorola did not lose money on the initiative. {check on the book again for the citation needed} A WSJ article memorializing John F. Mitchell, included in its caption that the Iridium initiative was “ill fated.^[12]” The article went to report that "Iridium emerged from bankruptcy proceedings.....to perform as advertised in high-stress situations, providing communication in war zones and during natural disasters.^[13]" In 2009, Iridium emerged as a profitable ongoing venture.

After a $5 billion investment in Iridium, with little immediate assurances of an immediate payback, Iridium was spun off to a separate company in 1998 allowing Mitchell to raise another $1.59 billion for Motorola^[14]. Did Motorola lose money on the Iridium project? {insert answer ....and in addition Motorola received and additional $12.5 billion sale of Mitchell's legacy patents to Google {insert citiation from the rise and fall and resurrection of iridium}.

After 25 years in operation, Iridium continues to fulfill Mitchell’s vision, providing audio and video surveillance and links to "every point on the earth." Since Iridium is a vital resource for Defense Information Systems Agency and United States Department of Defense and National Security Agency, it is unlikely that the full capabilities of Iridium can ever be made public.

In 1983 Mitchell was appointed U.S. President Ronald Reagan's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. Mitchell also served a chairman of the Electronic Industries Alliance and as a director of the National Association of Manufacturers. Mitchell was trustee at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT); the Dublin City University, Ireland; and the University of Limerick Foundation. Mitchell was one of the architects of the huge expansion of the University of Limerick during the 1990s and 2000s through his work on the University of Limerick foundation.

Mitchell was awarded honorary doctorates from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in 19xx, Iowa Wesleyan College, in 19xx and from Dublin City University (Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath), Ireland, on October 25, 1996^[15]. Recipient of the 2003 Chicago Innovation Award.^[16]

U.S. Patent 2,833,994, July 2, 1954 for High Frequency Long-Line Variably End-Loaded with Clarence P. Pipes.

U.S.Patent 2,912,573, November 10 1959 for Receiver having frequency and amplitude modulation detecting.

U.S. Patent 3,087,117, April 23, 1963 for Portable Transmitter Apparatus with Selective.

U.S. Patent 2,975,274, March 14, 1961 for Frequency Modulation Radio Receiver.

U.S. Patent 3,126,514 October 13, 1961 for Noise Reducing system with Jack Germain.

U.S. Patent 3,906,166, September 16, 1975 for a Radio Telephone System{come back to correct Radiotelephone to include Mitchell} (the cell phone){correct in wiki Mobile phone to include Mitchell}. Martin Cooper, Richard W. Dronsurth, Albert J. Mikulski, John F. Mitchell, Roy A. Richardson, and John H. Sangster.

U.S. Patent 5,650,776, July 22, 1997 for a Communications Receiver with Thomas F. Holmes

Mitchell lived in Palatine, Illinois with his wife, Margaret Jeanne Gillis Mitchell. They have three children and four grandchildren. His son, Kevin Patrick, led the development of the popular Motorola Slim Line introduced in 2000. Mitchell was a true son of Ireland - "mhac Eireann." He was charismatic with a booming, lilting Irish Tenor voice and could produce a Tin Whistle with the finesse of a magician's wand. In his philanthropy he was devoted to improving the lot of the people of Ireland.

As business leader he was quick to realize the importance of accessing the educated human resources available at the time in Ireland with its fledgling economy. With the assistance of the Irish Development Authority (IDA) Motorola placed computer chip and other manufacturing plants in Ireland.

• Motorola Executive Helped spur Cellphone Revolution, Wall Street Journal, June 20–21, 2009, p. A10

• WSJ June 20, 2009 John F. Mitchell Remembrance

• Time Magazine, July 6, 2009 John F. Mitchell Remembrance

• John F. Mitchell Obit Announcement

• eliminate this external link; redundant: IIT Motorola Reception Honoring John F. Mitchell on YouTube

• Motorola Executive Helped spur Cellphone Revolution, Wall Street Journal, June 20–21, 2009, p. A10; jfm archives

• JFM & Jelly Beans & Ronald Reagan POTUS; jfm archives

Categories: Motorola employees | American chief executives | Illinois Institute of Technology alumni | 1928 births | | people from Chicago, Illinois | people from Sligo | people of Irish descent | History of the Telephone |