45 years of nickel hydride

The history of discovery of nickel hydride and studies of its properties is briefly described. Nickel hydride, obtained firstly on electrochemical way, was then synthesized directly from elements under high pressure of gaseous hydrogen. This was the first high pressure synthesis of a metal hydride, which opened a novel and very fruitful field of inorganic synthesis. It was the foundation for discovery of new materials and new phenomena.