The theory of holography was developed by a British scientist Dennis Gabor in the year 1947. He coined the term 'Hologram' from Greek words 'Holos' and 'Gramma', meaning 'Whole' and 'Message' respectively.

Gabor's study on holography was restricted to film transparencies using a mercury arc lamp as the source of light. Low coherency of this light made it impossible to produce holograms of any depth. Next decade witnessed further development in the technology with eminent scientist of different nationalities like GL Rogers, P. Kirkpatrick, H.EI-Sum, A.B. Baez and M.E Haine making useful contributions to the field.

In 1960, with the advent of laser, the technique of making holograms improved as the pure and intent light of laser was ideal for it. The next decade witnessed a growth in the advancement of holograms.

In the year 1962, two scientists from the University of Michigan propounded that holography could be used as a 3-D visual medium and it later resulted in the first ever 'laser transmission hologram of 3-D objects', producing greater clarity images with realistic depths. This in turn led to the standardization of equipment used to manufacture holograms.

In the next few years, lot of research and advancement was made by number of researchers and scientists in the field of holography. Gradually the use of holograms increased and in 1983, Mastercard International Inc. became the first corporation to use hologram in the bank security system. Since then this technology has witnessed phenomenal growth in terms of applications. Holograms have been used as an anti counterfeiting measure, improving the brand identity, improving the look and packaging of products. In the current times it is being used by almost all industries and being put to number of uses.