This article discusses the quantitative and qualitative evolution of technical and scientific translation throughout history. It draws on more than 20,000 entries collected in BITRA (Bibliography of Interpreting and Translation) up to September 2003. The author concludes that concern for technical and scientific translation only appears in the 1950s, when obsession with canonicity seems to decline somewhat within Translation Studies. A further finding is that consideration of this type of translation has been and remains mainly practical, with reflections on problems posed by terminological domains (mostly legal and, lagging far behind, medical, business and IT), teaching, documentation, the interpreting of technical discourse and professional issues as the favourite topics.