This paper provides a personal perspective of the history and evolution of the discipline of Functional Safety. It starts with the concerns that provided the early drivers, the initiatives that moved the discipline from a diverse and ad hoc collection of different control measures, to an internationally recognised, systematic framework with a broad spectrum of risk reduction principles, to sector customised approaches for the consequences, risk reduction customs and system behaviours found in different industry sectors. It also poses the question of where future advancements will lie, in further refinement into sector and industry specific practices or through development of a more comprehensive framework able to adapt to a wide variety of different threats in a uniform manner.