Chemical and mathematical resolution

For many decades Curve Resolution has been and still is a mainstream topic of chemometrics research. Step by step, an impressive capability has been developed to obtain qualitative and quantitative information from todays complex data structures. The objective of the work is to highlight the key milestones along the path of these developments without drawning the reader into a quagmire of equations and mathematics. Attention has been paid to the requirements and obstacles for a widespread industrial implementation of curve resolution. The reader will not find a traditional review, which seeks completeness. Instead, the paper simply tells the story of an exciting field of research, which inspired many of us and hopefully will keep doing so in the future.