In 1960, a physicist fired a flash lamp into a synthetic ruby rod: It produced the first working laser and changed how humans control light

On May 16, 1960, Theodore Maiman made history by demonstrating the first functional laser at Hughes Research Laboratories.
Hackaday

First Light: The Story Of The Laser

Lasers are such a fundamental piece of technology today that we hardly notice them. So cheap that they can be given away as toys and so versatile that they make everything from DVD players to corneal ...