A first history of Functional Grammar

The history is told of Functional Grammar (FG), as developed by Simon C. Dik (1940–1995) of the University of Amsterdam and his co-workers. The presentation covers the genesis of the theory, its international recognition, the early death of its originator and main protagonist as well as Dik’s Nachleben in current linguistics, including the emergence of a successor theory in the form of Functional Discourse Grammar. The article assesses FG’s reception in linguistics, emphasizing its openness to incorporating ideas from other sources, and evaluates its contribution to linguistic theory and descriptive practice.