The early research on proton conductor solids for fuel cell, battery or H2-sensor has started in the 1960s for niche applications (e.g. the polymer membrane used in Gemini orbiter US program or perovskite ceramic tested in SOFC French prototype) but the real academic interest has begun after 1967 with Ford patent and papers of Ford Lab on beta alumina electrolyte and its ion exchange properties. This happened to be a few years before the 1972 ‘The Club of Rome’ report, and the first oil crisis in 1973 which affected the research activities with the fluctuating oil (and now carbon) prices. A renewal of research activity then took place in relation with the Global Warming issues and search for the decarbonated energy sources and storage. We discuss here the history of proton conductor research in terms of the communities involved and the first studied materials, with a comparison of the researches leading to applications with the ones remaining under study. Special attention is paid to the methods of analysis well adapted for the understanding of the space- and time-scale dynamics of proton conductors, namely neutron scattering and frequency dependent conductivity/relaxation. Some unsolved questions are formalised.