The point contact transistor and the discovery of transistor action by Bardeen and Brattain on Dec 16, 1947,@footnote 1,2@ which evolved from studies on Shockley's field-effect principle, was the first solid-state electronic device to utilize both free-electrons and free-holes and resulted in Bardeen and Brattain receiving a patent on Oct 3, 1950.@footnote 3@ Shockley was not a co-patent holder, however, since his scientific contribution of the field-effect principle had, in retrospect, already been anticipated through a previous patent awarded to Lilienfeld in 1930.@footnote 4@ The assessment as to whether the minority-carrier holes emitted into the large grained polycrystalline, n-type Ge (or Si) sample were mainly transported from the emitter to the collector through the p-type inversion layer@footnote 5@ or exhibited some non-trivial transport as minority-carriers through the n-type bulk sample, continues to be of interest and will be discussed. In that regard, Shive's experiment clearly illustrated the importance of the geometrical configuration in determining the percent of surface versus bulk transport@footnote 6@ while Shockley's p-n (bulk) junction theory and p-n junction transistor, originally an undisclosed notebook account, facilitated the mathematical description of Bardeen and Brattain's previously disclosed transistor action@footnote 1-3@ using a one-dimensional analysis.@footnote 7@ Bardeen also comprehended that it was not efficient to modulate the conductivity of a slab of semiconductor via the field effect@footnote 8@ and, thereby, patented the essence of the first modern (MOS) transistor.@footnote 9@ This was an insulating gate modulating an n-type inversion layer via the field effect, utilizing the inversion layer to confine the minority-carrier transport, in series with a reverse-biased n-p junction, and resulted in the first recorded power gain in a solid-state amplifier.@footnote 9@ The device, described by Sah as a sourceless MOS transistor,@footnote 10@ became the basis of, for example, subsequent MOS memory DRAM and CMOS microprocessor applications. Indeed, John Bardeen, the co-inventor of the bipolar and inventor of the MOS transistor, may rightly be called the father of modern electronics. Nevertheless, Shockley deservedly shared the Noble prize in 1956 with Bardeen and Brattain for his seminal contributions of injection over a barrier, p-n (bulk) junction theory and p-n junction transistor. The scientific background, personnel involved and intertwining of these historic 1940s events are described. @FootnoteText@@footnote 1@J. Bardeen and W.H. Brattain, Phys. Rev., 74, 230-231 (1948) @footnote 2@W.H. Brattain and J. Bardeen, Phys. Rev., 74, 231-232 (1948) @footnote 3@J. Bardeen and W.H. Brattain, U.S. Patent No.2,524,035 (filed June 17, 1948; issued Oct. 3, 1950) @footnote 4@J.E. Lilienfeld, U.S Patent No. 1,745,175 (filed Oct. 8, 1926; issued Jan. 18, 1930) @footnote 5@J. Bardeen, Phys. Rev., 71, 717-727 (1947) @footnote 6@J.N. Shive, Phys. Rev., 75, 689-690 (1949) @footnote 7@W. Shockley, Bell Sys. Tech. J., 28, 435-489 (1949) @footnote 8@W.Shockley and G.L. Pearson, Phys. Rev., 74, 232-233 (1948) @footnote 9@J. Bardeen, U.S. Patent No. 2,524,033 (filed Feb. 26, 1948; issued Oct. 3, 1950) @footnote 10@C.T. Sah, Proc. IEEE, 76, 1280-1326 (1988)