We review the types of electrostatic accelerators currently in use and their historical antecedents. Applications enrich many areas of modern research especially in material analysis and modification. The rapidly developing scope of accelerator mass spectrometry, AMS, has given birth to new low energy accelerators and revitalized the appreciation of the enabling physics of the electron stripping process. Another exciting development has been in the simultaneous bombardment by several accelerators to simulate the radiation environment of nuclear reactors. This exploits a wide variety of accelerators and diagnostic techniques. High energy electrostatic accelerators are being eclipsed as injectors to booster accelerators by dedicated positive ion injectors. Nevertheless, electrostatic accelerators continue to be the bedrock for most injector laboratories during the often extended transition to positive ion injectors. They also continue in their historic role as workhorses of nuclear structure physics.