Earl Bakken facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Earl Bakken
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Bakken in 2007
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| Born | January 10, 1924 Columbia Heights, Minnesota, United States
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| Died | October 21, 2018 (aged 94) Kona District, Hawaii, United States
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| Nationality | American |
| Education | BSEE and MSEE from the University of Minnesota |
| Known for | founding Medtronic, inventing the wearable portable pacemaker, founding Bakken Museum |
| Engineering career | |
Earl Elmer Bakken (born January 10, 1924, died October 21, 2018) was an American engineer and businessman. He was also a kind person who gave a lot to charity. He started a company called Medtronic. At Medtronic, he created the very first portable, battery-powered artificial pacemaker in 1957. This invention changed medicine forever.
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Early Life and Learning
Earl Bakken was born on January 10, 1924. His hometown was Columbia Heights, Minnesota. He had family roots from Norway.
From a young age, Earl loved electricity and electronics. He even called himself a "nerd" because he enjoyed these subjects so much. He built a simple electric device to protect himself from bullies at school.
He studied electrical engineering at the University of Minnesota. He earned his first degree in 1948. Later, he got a master's degree in the same field.
Starting a Medical Company
After World War II, hospitals began using more electronic machines. But they often didn't have people to fix them. Earl Bakken saw a chance to help.
He teamed up with his brother-in-law, Palmer Hermundslie. They started a company called Medtronic. The name "Medtronic" combines "medical" and "electronic." They began working in a small garage, mostly helping the University of Minnesota hospital.
Inventing the Portable Pacemaker
In the 1950s, a doctor named C. Walton Lillehei was doing important heart surgeries. He helped children with a condition called "blue baby syndrome." After surgery, these children sometimes needed a pacemaker for a short time.
The pacemakers back then were huge. They needed their own carts and plugged into a wall outlet. On October 31, 1957, there was a power outage. Sadly, one of Dr. Lillehei's young patients died because the pacemaker stopped working.
The next day, Dr. Lillehei asked Bakken for help. He wanted a better solution. Bakken found a circuit diagram for a metronome in a magazine. Four weeks later, he created a battery-powered pacemaker. It was small, about the size of a few decks of cards.
Bakken tested his new device in the lab. He then made a more polished version for patients. To his surprise, when he returned, the pacemaker was already being used on a patient. At that time, the government did not regulate medical devices as strictly as they do today.
Medtronic's Important Mission
Over the next few years, Bakken and Medtronic worked with doctors. They developed pacemakers that could be placed inside the body. But the company almost went out of business.
Earl Bakken borrowed money to keep Medtronic going. This close call made him create the Medtronic Mission. This mission still guides the company today. It helped Medtronic focus on truly helping patients.
Later Life and Legacy
Earl Bakken retired from Medtronic in 1989. He moved to Hawaii, to a place he called Bakken Hale. Even after retiring, he often visited Medtronic. He met new employees and shared the Medtronic Mission with them.
In 1996, he helped open the North Hawaii Community Hospital. He worked there to combine different types of medicine. He wanted to create a more holistic way of caring for people's health.
In 2001, Medtronic built a new center in The Netherlands. The street where it was built is named after Earl Bakken.
Earl Bakken passed away at his home in Hawaii on October 21, 2018. He was 94 years old. His inventions and ideas continue to help many people around the world.
See also
