Nonlinear optics was profoundly influenced by early work of Charles Townes and his group at Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1961 to 1967. His foundational contribution was the realization that coherent molecular oscillations resulted from stimulated Raman scattering, leading to the introduction of stimulated Brillouin scattering. Self-trapping of light beams and self-steeping of light pulses in nonlinear materials were two other important innovations. Some applications today of these early ideas are outlined.