Many of the basic observational facts about radio pulsars were
established shortly after their discovery [97] by Bell and Hewish in 1967. In the intervening years,
theoretical and observational progress has flourished. Although
there are many remaining questions, particularly about the
emission mechanism, the basic model has long been established
beyond all reasonable doubt, viz.: Pulsars are rapidly rotating,
highly magnetised neutron stars formed during the supernova
explosions of massive (
5-10
) stars. In the following, we discuss the basic observational
properties most relevant to this review.