Although extraterrestrial radio waves were discovered by Karl Jansky in 1933, they were first seriously studied by Grote Reber in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Reber recognized the non-thermal nature of the emission. However, it was not until the decade following World War II that it was recognized that these extraterrestrial radio emissions are a phenomenon of major importance; previously they had remained a curiosity judged by most physicists and astronomers to be of little scientific interest. The birth of radio astronomy represented the opening of a new window on the Universe very different from the view using optical radiation that had been always available. Attendant with the birth of this new field of science was great enthusiasm, astonishing discoveries, and bold speculations (some brilliant and some absurd). This initial period lasted into the 1960’s when radio astronomy matured into an accepted field of scientific research. The field was dominated by three major groups, one in Australia and two in England. I began observational work in the field immediately after my physics PhD in 1956. At that time the world’s radio astronomers were still only a small group of people who all knew each other very well. I will attempt to describe these early years and the pioneering radio astronomers who made the major discoveries that revolutionized our understanding of the energetic processes that dominate many important aspects of the Universe.