Akira Tonomura (外村 彰, Tonomura Akira, April 25, 1942 – May 2, 2012) was a Japanese physicist, best known for his development of electron holography and his experimental verification of the Aharonov–Bohm effect.

[1] Tonomura was born in Hyōgo, Japan, and graduated from the University of Tokyo with a degree in physics.

Upon graduation he joined the Hitachi Central Research Laboratory, where he later attained the title "Fellow" in 1999.

[2] In the 1970s, Tonomura did pioneering work in the development of the electron holography microscope and observed lines of magnetic force for the first time in the world.

This experiment proved that vector potentials, which are nothing more than a mathematical concept in classical physics, are in fact physical quantities that are more fundamental (i.e. have ontological priority) than electric or magnetic fields.