This paper is a modification of the author's oral presentation at the 15th ECSMGE in Athens in 2011. It focuses on the European history of ISSMGE and underlines the interaction with other related societies. Presidents/chairpersons and founding data of the European Member Societies are listed, and several details to conferences are given. Though focusing on the Past, the paper illustrates also the links to the Present. A tribute to the late pioneers of soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering will be given within an extended version of this paper (available at ISSMGE).