PHYSICIST

Gordon Gould

1920 - 2005

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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. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Gordon Gould is the 636th most popular physicist (down from 493rd in 2019), the 6,908th most popular biography from United States (down from 3,784th in 2019) and the 133rd most popular American Physicist.

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Among PHYSICISTS

Among physicists, Gordon Gould ranks 636 out of 851. Before him are Robert R. Wilson, Georges-Louis Le Sage, Balthasar van der Pol, Yvette Cauchois, Abraham Pais, and James Hansen. After him are Isaak Kikoin, Lee Smolin, Julius Wess, Ferdinand Monoyer, Carlo Alberto Castigliano, and Harold Brown.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1920, Gordon Gould ranks 294. Before him are Georges Balandier, Nida Senff, Jack Lord, Ehsan Yarshater, Musa Anter, and Nils Bohlin. After him are Fernando Riera, Liam Cosgrave, Constant Nieuwenhuys, Carlo Monti, Jacques Noël, and Mary Boyce. Among people deceased in 2005, Gordon Gould ranks 225. Before him are Michalina Wisłocka, Donald Watson, Attilâ İlhan, Natalya Meklin, Audrey Brown, and Mario David. After him are Luther Vandross, John Love, Constant Nieuwenhuys, P. Bhanumathi, Geraldine Fitzgerald, and Shoji Nishio.

Others Born in 1920

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Gordon Gould ranks 6,910 out of 20,380. Before him are José Graziano da Silva (1949), Jane Colden (1724), Chad Michael Murray (1981), Seann William Scott (1976), Bill Vukovich (1918), and Eddie Cantor (1892). After him are Brie Larson (1989), James Hall (1811), Zooey Deschanel (1980), William Guarnere (1923), Lee Barnes (1906), and Joe Spano (1946).

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Among PHYSICISTS In United States

Among physicists born in United States, Gordon Gould ranks 133. Before him are Robert Mills (1927), Bryce DeWitt (1923), Victor J. Stenger (1935), Charles Kittel (1916), Robert R. Wilson (1914), and James Hansen (1941). After him are Lee Smolin (1955), Harold Brown (1927), Sidney Coleman (1937), Marcia Neugebauer (1932), Joan Feynman (1927), and Charles W. Misner (1932).

American born Physicists

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