Donald R. Herriott

Donald Richard Herriott ( born February 4, 1928 in Rochester, New York, † November 8, 2007 ) was an American physicist. In 1960 he was one of the inventors of the gas laser.

His parents were William and Lois ( Denton ) Herriott. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he studied physics at Duke University and later appearance at the University of Rochester. Meanwhile, he worked at Bausch & Lomb. He married Kari Smith, with whom he has three daughters and a son. In 1956 he went as a trouble- shooter and consultant to look at the Bell Labs. In 1960 he invented together with his colleagues, Ali Javan, and William R. Bennett the first CW laser, a helium -neon laser, for which he received the 1977 Outstanding Patent Award.