TIG welding was introduced in the year of 1941. Russell Meredith invented this process when he was at Northrop Aircraft. At the very beginning, Meredith named this process as Heliarc because of using Tungsten as electrode arc and helium as shielding gas.
After that, it was renamed as Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) when the argon is using that purpose. According to the American Welding Society, Gas Tungsten Arc Welding became the official technical term whereas Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) is widely using as a general term.