--- description: Here's how portable telephones -- and the ways we use them -- have evolved over the past century, from the front lines of World War I to selfies with the Queen title: See The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92dae81be78af773/6986a25e55a859ed06a8272d/mobile-phones-history91.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today by [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 8, 2014 5:00 PM CUT  1997 A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi. 1997 A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi.India Today Group/Getty Images by [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 8, 2014 5:00 PM CUT  1916 A German field telephone station in the Aisne department of northern France during World War I. Paul Thompson—FPG/Getty Images  1970 French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday in a scene from the film 'Point de Chute' (aka 'Falling Point'). Keystone/Holton/Getty Images  1980 An early mobile phone during the Iranian Embassy siege at Princes Gate in South Kensington, London. Kypros/Getty Images  1983 Bob Maxwell, general manager of Englewood-based Mobile Telephone of Colorado, places a call on an FCC-approved radio frequency while driving to work. Lyn Alweis—Denver Post/Getty Images  1986 THE A-TEAM "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" Episode 5\. (l-r) Eddie Velez as Frankie Santana, Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell, George Peppard as John 'Hannibal' Smith. Bill Dow—NBC/Getty Images  1992 Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton talks on a cell phone while meeting with Boston Mayor Ray Flynn in a New York hotel on Sept. 25. Mark Lennihan—AP  1993 Whoopi Goldberg during ShoWest in Las Vegas. Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  1997 A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi. India Today Group/Getty Images  2001 A woman watches smoke pour out of the World Trade Center Towers in New York on September 11. Nicholas Goldberg—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images  2011 A rebel militiaman speaks on his mobile phone after capturing territory from government troops on March 25 in Ben Jawat, Libya. John Moore—Getty Images  2011 A youth films the aftermath of tear gas police fired at protestors in Muhammed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square on November 23 in Cairo. Peter Macdiarmid—Getty Images  2012 Audience members take pictures of President Barack Obama at Florida Atlantic University on April 10 in Boca Raton, Florida. Marc Serota—Getty Images  2014 A teenager takes a selfie in front of Queen Elizabeth II during a walk around St. Georges Market in Belfast. The Queen has apparently voiced her dismay that when she carries out engagements she is greeted by a sea of mobile phones. Peter Macdiarmid—PA Wire/Press Association Images/AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3259694/mobile-phone-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3259694/mobile-phone-history/"},"headline":"The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today","datePublished":"2014-09-08T17:00:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:45:44.953Z","description":"Here's how portable telephones -- and the ways we use them -- have evolved over the past century, from the front lines of World War I to selfies with the Queen","url":"https://time.com/3259694/mobile-phone-history/","keywords":["Tech","Innovation","Smartphones","Technology","cell phone"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92dae81be78af773/6986a25e55a859ed06a8272d/mobile-phones-history91.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt92dae81be78af773/6986a25e55a859ed06a8272d/mobile-phones-history91.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi.","caption":"A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi.","creditText":"India Today Group/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3259694/mobile-phone-history/","name":"The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today"}}]}] ```