A/N I wrote this as a mini chapter book. Let me know if I should split it up into multiple chapters.

Earl Bakken was Minnesota boy who grew up in Minneapolis loving electricity. At the age of 25 he founded Medtronic with his brother-in-law. Medtronic built medical equipment. I was there that Earl built the first wearable battery powered Transistorized Cardiac Pacemaker. Earl won many awards for his work in medical technology. Earl retired twice from Medtronic, first as an employee then from the Board of Directors. In between his retirements he moved to Hawaii, where he lived until his death.

Chapter 1:
A Minnesota Boy

Earl Bakken was born on January 10th 1924 to Florence and Osval Bakken. He grew up in Minneapolis where he was fascinated by electricity. After sneaking into a movie theater at age 8 to watch Frankenstein he liked the idea of restoring life with electricity. At age 9 he built a telephone for him and a friend that lived across the street. When he got older he built a radio from a crystal set and a robot that functioned.

As a teenager he built a taser like device to use against bullies. He also drew plans for futuristic radios, houses and rocket ships. When he was 18 his sister Marjorie was born. In World War II he served as an airborne radar maintenance instructor down in Florida. At age 24 he married Connie Olson on September 11, 1948. That December he graduated from the University of Minnesota.

Chapter 2:
Life at Medtronic

Earl Bakken founded Medtronic with Palmer Hermundslie in April 29th, 1949. Earl was 25 years old. They founded to repair and build electronic medical equipment.

At age 28 Earl's first child was born, her name was Wendy. Then at at 31 his som Jeff was born.

In the fall of 1957 after a blackout caused power failures, Dr. Lillehei approached Medtronic to see if they could make a pacemaker that did not rely on the hospital's main power supply. At age 33 Earl created the first Wearable Battery-Powered Transistorized Cardiac Pacemaker.

At age 34 Earl's second son, Brad was born.
In the fiscal year of 1959 to 1960 Medtronic reports gross sales of $181,000. The St. Anthony Medtronic facility opens between 1960 and 1963 producing a proprietary line of 13 devices.

At age 38 Earl's youngest child is born, a daughter named Pamela.

Medtronic becomes international by opening a sales office in Amsterdam in 1967. In 1970 Earl's co-founder and brother-in-law Palmer passes away. At the age of 50 Medtronic had their 25th anniversary and sold devices in more than 70 countries.

At age 51 Earl founded The Bakken Museum, showing his love of electricity. Two years later Medtronic is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

In 1981 Earl received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of Minnesota, the highest award given to alumni.

In 1982 at the age of 58 he married his second wife Doris Marshall. At the age of 60 he received: The Centennial Medal from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers,the Engineering for Gold award from the National Society of Professional Engineers, the Med-tech Outstanding Achievement Award. The next year, 1985, Medtronic appears in the Fortune 500 for the first time and Earl receives the Distinguished Service Award from The North American Society of Pacing and Electro- physiology, now know as The Heart Rhythm Society. The University of St. Thomas awarded him the Centennial Medal and both the University of Minnesota and Tulane University awarded him honorary doctor of science degrees.

Between 1988 and 1989, he received the
Achievement Award for Leadership in the Business Application of Science and Technology from the Science Museum of Minnesota, the Governor's Award for Medical Leadership from the Minnesota Medical Alley Association, and the Outstanding Minnesotan of the Year Award from the Minnesota Broadcasters Association. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands named him an Officer in the Order of the Orange-Nassau. Then he retired and moves to Hawaii at age 65.

Chapter 3:
Many Awards

After retiring from Medtronic, he authored the book Reflections on Leadership. And the awards continued to amass. The American College of Cardiology and the International College of Surgeons both named him an Honorary Fellow. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Entrepreneur of the Year Institute of Minnesota. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers awarded him the Eli Lilly Award in Medical and Biological Engineering. As the awards continued to roll in, including an election into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame, he retired from the Medtronic Board of Directors.

He started to focus more and more on philanthropy, both in his community in Hawaii and back in Minnesota. In Hawaii, he was most involved with a community hospital: North Hawai'i Community Hospital, as well as schools and educational centers that were dedicated to research and environmental sciences (The Kohala Center) and the preservation of Hawaiian culture and values (Na Kalai Waa Moku O Hawai'i).

He also started to ask people who received "extra life" from medical devices or therapies, "What are you going to do with your extra life in service to others and the world?" He inspired Medtronic to launch the Bakken Invitation, a program to recognize those who are great examples of "Living On and Giving On." The Bakken Invitation appears to continue to this day.

Earl Bakken wrote two more books, One Man's Full Life and Dreaming On With Earl Bakken.

He was made a Knight of Grace by the Order of St. John. He continued to receive lifetime achievement awards though the end of his life. He died in Hawaii on October 21, 2018.

Glossary:

Airborne: in the air
Alumni: graduate
Cardiac: has to do with the heart
Fiscal: 12 month accounting period Transistorized: uses transistors