The Bakken - Earl Bakken's First Pacemaker

Earl's first wearable, battery-powered, transistorized cardiac pacemaker

Earl Bakken's first wearable, battery-powered, transistorized cardiac pacemaker, shown above on the left with Medtronic, Inc. stamped on it, can be seen on exhibit at The Bakken. The electrical schematic in the background is Earl's original handwritten schematic design for the pacemaker that made history and saved lives.

From Earl E. Bakken's Book "One Man's Full life"

"Back at the garage, I dug out a back issue of Popular Electronics magazine in which I recalled seeing a circuit for an electronic, transistorized metronome. The circuit transmitted clicks through a loudspeaker; the rate of the clicks could be adjusted to fit the music. I simply modified that circuit and placed it, without the loudspeaker, in a four-inch-square, inch-and-thick metal box with terminals and switches on the outside - and that, as they say, was that. "

National Academy of Engineering Honors Go to Inventors of the Pacemaker

The engineering profession's highest honors for 2001, presented by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), recognized two technological achievements that have markedly improved people's lives throughout the world -- the Internet and the pacemaker.

Earl Bakken and Wilson Greatbatch received the Russ Prize, along with $500,000 for their invention of the first human heart pacemaker!

Earl Bakken on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Learn more about Earl Bakken at Dennis Stillings new web site.

The Bakken
A Library and Museum of Electricity in Life

3537 Zenith Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55416-4623, USA

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Tele: 612-926-3878 Fax: 612-927-7265

Museum Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 10 to 5
Thursdays 10 am to 8pm
Closed Major Holidays
Library Hours: Monday - Friday 9 to 4:30

Admission: $7 Adults; $5 Students & Seniors; Children 3 and under are FREE!

© The Bakken Updated: April 6, 2007