when was bluetooth invented

Bluetooth technology was invented in 1994 by Dr. Jaap Haartsen, a Dutch engineer, while working at Ericsson, a telecommunications company in Sweden. The initial development work commenced to create wireless communication to replace cables, especially for mobile devices and headsets. The first Bluetooth-enabled device was released in 1999, a hands-free mobile headset. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) was formed in 1998 to oversee the development and licensing of Bluetooth technology. The name "Bluetooth" was inspired by the 10th century Danish king Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson, known for uniting Denmark and parts of Norway, symbolizing the technology's goal to unite different devices through wireless communication.