Timeline: Motorola from cellphone inventor to Google bolt-on

(Reuters) - Google Inc's purchase of Motorola Mobility marks the end of its 81-year story -- including its invention of the cellphone in the 1970s, its spectacular success with the Razr phone a few years ago, and then its slide into crisis and now its takeover.

* 1928: Galvin family establishes Galvin Manufacturing. Its first product was a power converter.

* 1930: Changes name to Motorola. Three generations of Galvins lead Motorola until Christopher Galvin's 2004 ouster.

* 1943: First public offering of Motorola stock at $8.50/shr.

* 1973: Motorola's Martin Cooper makes the first mobile phone call on a prototype of DynaTAC.

* 1984: DynaTAC becomes commercially available. It is later known as the "brick" when surpassed by lighter, smaller phones.

* 1989: Launches MicroTAC, its first flip-phone, which has a plastic cover that flips open to reveal its keypad.

* 1994: Motorola dominates global cell market with a 32.5 pct share, versus Nokia's 21 pct, according to Gartner.

* Mid-1990s: The first digital wireless networks are built in Europe, but Motorola is slow to discard analog for digital.

* 1996: Launches StarTAC, the first of its signature clamshell

phone range with a lid that hinges open.

* 2000: Motorola's market share is 13 percent vs Nokia's 31 percent, and it hovers in the mid-teen range for years.

* 2004: Late in the year Motorola launches Razr, an ultra-thin phone that becomes a design icon.

* 2006: In July, Motorola says 50 million Razr phones already sold. CEO Ed Zander promises 500 million. But market gets saturated with Razrs and by year-end it is being given away for free. Motorola market share peaks around 23 percent.

* 2007: Activist investor Carl Icahn starts pushing Motorola to split up, buy back shares and fire its CEO. Apple Inc sells first iPhone. Motorola ends year with 9 percent share.

* January 2008: Greg Brown replaces Zander as CEO. Motorola posts a loss for three out of four quarters of that year.

* October 2008: New Co-CEO Sanjay Jha reveals plan to bet future entirely on Google's Android platform. Cuts thousands of jobs. Motorola ends year with less than 7 percent share.

* November 2009: Motorola unveils first Android phone with Verizon Wireless kick-starting the successful Droid brand.

* January 2011: Motorola Inc is split into Motorola Solutions and Motorola Mobility. Announces plan to launch first tablet based on Android to compete with Apple's iPad

* July 21 2011: Icahn urges Motorola: generate more value from thousands of patents; maybe spin off patents from handsets.

* July 28 2011: Motorola delays new products until September. Ends second quarter with a 2.9 percent market share.

* Aug 15 2011: Google announces deal to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion.

--Market share data from Gartner and Strategy Analytics--

(Reporting by Sinead Carew and Liana B. Baker, editing by Martin Howell)