The first mobile phone call took place on April 3, 1973. Martin Cooper, an engineer at Motorola, made the historic call using a handheld mobile phone while standing on a street in New York City. This groundbreaking moment marked the beginning of a new era in telecommunications, as it demonstrated the feasibility of wireless phone technology. The phone used for the call weighed about 2.5 pounds and had a battery life of only about 20 minutes. This innovation laid the foundation for the development of modern smartphones, reshaping communication in countless ways over the following decades.