Second language acquisition theoryconventionally represents itself as having been invented ex nihilo in the last decadesof the twentieth century. This article investigates the nature of this largely unexamineddisciplinary self-concept and questions its validity. I dispute arguments that might be formulatedto support the notion that SLA theory has no relevant earlier history, enumerate some of theunfortunate consequences of maintaining this belief, and speculate about benefits to the field thatmight accrue from abandoning it. Instead of presenting SLA theory as having its origin in the last20 or 30 years, I suggest that we need to look for ways to identify, investigate, and eventuallyreconceptualize its true history.