early 12c., one of the ecclesiastical princes who constitute the sacred college (short for cardinalis ecclesiae Romanae or episcopus cardinalis), from Latin cardinalis principal, chief, essential (see cardinal (adj.)). Ecclesiastical use began for the presbyters of the chief (cardinal) churches of Rome.
In 1889, the rotary telephone dial was invented by Almon B. Strowger , a Kansas City undertaker. The first dial exchange was installed at La Porte, Indiana, in 1892. In 1943, Philadelphia was the last major area to give up dual service.
History of the Smartphone. Alexander Graham Bell is the inventor of the telephone. In 1878 he made the first phone call. Telephones have not only come a long way, but may one day be completely obsolete. Motorola introduced some of the first cellphones to the public during the 1980s. These cellphones were completely unlike the cell phones of today since they were not at all compact nor by any means cost effective. Some of these cellphones cost as much as $4,000, and weighed over 2 pounds! The first smartphone was developed by IBM and BellSouth, which came out to the public in 1993.