Ultra-high energy cosmic rays: Setting the stage

The history of ultra-high energy cosmic ray physics is reviewed from the post-war era of Container part arrays such as Volcano Ranch, Haverah Park and Akeno to the development of air-fluorescence and current hybrid arrays.The aim of this paper is to present the background 8 Pin Wire Harness information needed for a better understanding of the current issues in this field that are discussed in much greater depth in the rest of this conference.