Gordon Gould
Sign in to saveAlso known as Richard Gordon Gould
American physicist and inventor (1920–2005)
Key facts
- Born
- Richard Gordon Gould , ( 1920-07-17 ) July 17, 1920, New York City
- Died
- September 16, 2005 (2005-09-16) (aged 85), New York City
- Alma mater
- Union College, New York ( BS ), Yale University ( MS ), Columbia University ( PhD )
- Known for
- Laser , patent law
- Fields
- Physics
- Institutions
- NYU Poly
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Gordon
- Family name
- Gould
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Manhattan
- Place of death
- Lenox Hill Hospital
- Occupation
- university teacher
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Religion
- atheism
- Award
- John Scott Award
- Student of
- Polykarp Kusch
- Image
- Gordongould2 (cropped).JPG
Show 5 more facts
- date of death
- 2005-09-16
- date of birth
- 1920-07-17
- interested in
- laser
- on focus list of Wikimedia project
- Wikipedia:Vital articles/Level/4
- Commons category
- Gordon Gould
via Wikidata · CC0
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Richard Gordon Gould (July 17, 1920 – September 16, 2005) was an American physicist who is sometimes credited with the invention of the laser and the optical amplifier. (Credit for the invention of the laser is disputed, since Charles Townes and Arthur Schawlow were the first to publish the theory and Theodore Maiman was the first to build a working laser). Gould is best known for his thirty-year fight with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to obtain patents for the laser and related technologies. He also fought with laser manufacturers in court battles to enforce the patents he subsequently did obtain.
Early life and education
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Gordon Gould” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.