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Although they are common in nature and must certainly have been observed by early man, we have to wait till Newton for the first truly scientific study of what we now understand as interference effects in thin films. Young, Fresnel, and Maxwell all contributed and the theory was well established by the beginning of the 20th century. Coatings depending on interference, at this stage, were in their infancy and antireflection and decorative coatings, and color photography were the primary applications. By the middle of the 20th century, the situation had changed completely. Today almost the entire field of optics depends on interference optical coatings. This paper will start with a rapid account of the history and end with a survey of the range of interference coatings that are employed today with a fleeting glimpse of what might be in the future.