ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of the early years of what presently is called earthquake engineering (EE), especially in the United States. Major events contributing to the growth of EE until 1960 are briefly discussed. We then trace the evolution of the definition of EE and its goal to the present time. The nature of the earthquake problem, the factors that can create an earthquake disaster and the importance of earthquake preparedness are then briefly discussed. The next section includes a summary list of major events, developments and advances since 1960, as well as a brief discussion of future challenges of EE. The final section offers some closing remarks.
