Remembering the Maverick Pioneer Behind the Laser

In the News

May 16, Yearly – Celebration of Laser’s Anniversary with International Day of Light

The International Day of Light is celebrated on 16 May each year, the anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960 by Theodore Maiman. The International Day of Light is a global initiative that provides a platform for the continued appreciation of light and the role it plays in science, culture and art, education and sustainable development, and fields as diverse as medicine, manufacturing, communications, entertainment and energy

2023 - 50 years of LASER World of PHOTONICS: A time travel into the world of photonics

2020 - SPIE: The Laser Turns 60!

2020 - Academic Perspectives from Cambridge University Press - A Brief History of Lasers: 60th Anniversary of the laser

2017 – 39th Session of UNESCO General Conference proclaims the date of May 16 as the International Day of Light

2010 - LaserFest, a year-long worldwide celebration to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the invention of the laser. Remembering the Laser Inventor at Hughes   Research Laboratories

2007 - SPIE: In Memoriam: Theodore Harold Maiman

1987 - Dr Maiman was chosen as the laureate for the Japan Prize in Electro-Optics

1983 - First International Neodymium – YAG Laser Society Conference held on October 2 - 5, 1983 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA: Birth of the laser video clip, with Theodore Maiman, the special guest at the conference

July 7, 1960 - “Light Brighter Than Sun”, Los Angeles Herald Express

July7, 1960 - “Hughes Research Victory: Horror Weapon Looms”, Evening Outlook, Santa Monica, California

July 7, 1960 - “Atomic Powered Sun-Brilliant Lamp Readied”, Los Angeles Mirror News