Electronics · Recorded milestone
Light-emitting diode
Recorded year1962
Nick Holonyak demonstrates the first visible red LED.
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- TransistorRecorded · 1947enables
Led to
- Digital watchRecorded · 1972enables
- Pulse oximeterRecorded · 1975enables
- Handheld gameRecorded · 1976enables
- Organic LEDs and semiconductorsRecorded · 1987enables
- Blue LEDRecorded · 1993enables
- SmartphoneRecorded · 1994requires
- SmartwatchRecorded · 2004requires
- Quantum-dot displaysRecorded · 2013requires
- Clothing as displaysRecorded · 2015enables
- Space-grown lettuceRecorded · 2015requires
- Smart ringRecorded · 2016requires
- Foldable phoneRecorded · 2018requires
- Cuffless blood-pressure watchRecorded · 2020requires
- Bioregenerative life supportForecast · ~2040requires
Sources & evidence
Dataset updated 2026-10-18. This individual record has not been separately re-reviewed.