This overview sketches the historical development of surface science through nanoscience toward nanotechnology. It spans about 50 years of evolution and emphasizes the multidisciplinary nature of this field, as well as its closely-knit interactions with technology, scientific disciplines, phenomena and techniques. A series of examples is given, drawn mainly from work performed in Berkeley, to highlight various stages in the field: surfaces, interfaces, clusters, thin films, superlattices, nanostructures and "bionano". (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.