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David Cochran - Inventor of the scientific pocket calculator

Phil McKinney
Phil McKinney
— 1 min read
David Cochran – Inventor of the scientific pocket calculator

What started out as a pet project of David Packard quickly turn into the HP-35 which was the epitome of a revolutionary mousetrap. Hand-held four function calculators were already on the market. Few could imagine a machine with scientific calculation capability that would fit in your shirt pocket, but could readily see the use and the need started growing in his mind.

He assigned the task of creating the first scientific pocket calculator to David Cochran and the rest is history.

Beyond being known as the person who led the HP35 team, he also goes down as the person who signed off on letting Steve Wozniak, who worked at HP at the time in calculator group, take his work on a personal computer outside of HP. That step is what allowed for the creation of Apple Computer.

FeaturedStudio SessionsPast GuestscalculatorDavid CochranHP 35HP35inventorscientific pocket calculatorSteve Wozniak
Phil McKinney

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Phil McKinney is an innovator, podcaster, author, and speaker. He is the retired CTO of HP. Phil's book, Beyond The Obvious, shares his expertise and lessons learned on innovation and creativity.

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