A global, self-consistent estimate of sulfur dioxide emissions over the last one and a half century were estimated by using a combination of bottom-up and best available inventory methods including all anthropogenic sources. We find that global sulfur dioxide emissions peaked about 1980 and have generally declined since this time. Emissions were extrapolated to a 1{sup o} x 1{sup o} grid for the time period 1850-2000 at annual resolution with two emission height levels and by season. Emissions are somewhat higher in the recent past in this new work as compared with some comprehensive estimates. This difference is largely due to our use of emissions factors that vary with time to account for sulfur removals from fossil fuels and industrial smelting processes.