The history of leaky waves and leaky-wave antennas is an interesting one, with much of the theory being put on a firm foundation in the 1950s and 1960s by early pioneers such as Nathan Marcuvitz and Arthur A. Oliner. Rapid development of leaky-wave antennas took place after the foundation was established, and the development spread to areas such as printed-circuit technology, optics, and metamaterials. This presentation will review some of the basic history of leaky waves and leaky-wave antennas, and discuss some of the recent advances in the field.