Holography was discovered in 1947 by Hungarian physicist Dennis
Gabor (Hungarian name: Gábor Dénes) (1900–1979),
work for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971. It was made
possible by pioneering work in the field of physics by other scientists
like Mieczysław Wolfke who resolved technical
issues that previously made advancements impossible. The discovery was
an unexpected result of research into improving electron microscopes at the British Thomson-Houston Company in Rugby, England, and the company filed a patent in
December 1947.
(patent GB685286). The technique as originally invented is
still used in electron microscopy, where it is
known as electron holography, but holography as a
light-optical technique did not really advance until the development of
the laser
in 1960.
The first holograms that recorded 3D objects were made in 1962 by Yuri Denisyuk in the Soviet Union
and by Emmett Leith and Juris
Upatnieks at University of Michigan, USA.
Advances in photochemical processing techniques to produce high-quality
display holograms were achieved by Nicholas J. Phillips.
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