Gordon Gould

Gordon Gould, inventor of the laser

Gordon Gould was the first person to use the word "laser," and there is good reason to believe he made the first light laser. Gould was a doctoral student at Columbia University under Charles Townes, the inventor of the maser. Gould was inspired to build his optical laser starting in 1958. He failed to file for a patent his invention until 1959. As a result, Gould's patent was refused and his technolgy was exploited by others. In1977 Gould finally won his patent war and received his first patent for the laser.