John Hughlings Jackson (1835-1911) first clearly described apraxia in 1861, though he did not provide the specific name. Apraxias are subtle motor disorders in which there is an interruption of the organisation of movement mainly located in the left hemisphere. Hugo Karl Liepmann (1863-1925) was responsible for their elucidation, distinguishing ideomotor, limb-kinetic or innervatory, and ideational apraxias that affect distinct central associational areas of the cortex with characteristic clinical results. This notion was later expanded and clarified by Geschwind's 'disconnection syndromes'. This article summarises the history of this important and common pattern of motor dysfunction.