Mathematical theory of reliability: A historical perspective

The author reviews developments in mathematical reliability theory, especially those developments which have had or are likely to have impact on engineering reliability problems. The review to 1960 is based on a similar review which appeared in the 1965 book by R.E. Barlow and F. Proschan entitled Mathematical Theory of Reliability. It is pointed out that if the 1970s were the fault tree era, the 1980s may well turn out to be the era of network reliability, principally due to the importance of computer and computer network reliability.