  Research performed in the 1950s and 1960s by Leon Mestel on the roles of
magnetic fields in star formation established the framework within which he and
other key figures have conducted subsequent investigations on the subject. This
short tribute to Leon contains a brief summary of some, but not all, of his
ground breaking contributions in the area. It also mentions of some of the
relevant problems that have received attention in the last few years. The
coverage is not comprehensive, and the authors have drawn on their own results
more and touched more briefly on those of others than they would in a normal
review. Theirs is a personal contribution to the issue honouring Leon, one of
the truly great gentlemen, wits, and most insightful of astrophysicists.
