Oviedo, Spain, June 17: Two US engineers regarded as the inventors of e-mail and the mobile phone were Wednesday awarded the highly respected Spanish Prince of Asturias Prize in the category of scientific and technical investigation.
Raymond Samuel Tomlinson and Martin Cooper had produced a communications revolution for billions of people, contributing “decisively to the progress of knowledge” and increasing equal opportunities for developing countries, the jury said in Oviedo.
Tomlinson created the first system to send e-mail between different computers in 1971.
Cooper invented the first handheld mobile phone in 1973.
More than four billion people now use mobile phones, and 1.5 million communicate over e-mail or other internet services, according to data given by the Prince of Asturias Foundation.
The Prince of Asturias Prize, which is worth 50,000 euros (70,000 dollars), is awarded annually in eight categories. It is presented by Crown Prince Felipe in an autumn ceremony.
–Agencies