A suburban Chicago insurance agent won a contest 40 years ago to make the first commercial cellular call. He's still on the phone

There are more than 300 million cellphone customers in the U.S. David Meilahn, a suburban Chicago insurance agent, was the first. In a Soldier Field parking lot, 40 years ago Friday, Meilahn bested 13 other early adopters in a promotional race to see who could activate their preinstalled car phones and make the first commercial cellular call in the U.S. Meilahn won a check to cover the car ...

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