diff --git a/src/header/common/authorization.rs b/src/header/common/authorization.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7cc13334
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/header/common/authorization.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,180 @@
+use std::fmt::{mod, Show};
+use std::from_str::FromStr;
+use std::str::from_utf8;
+use serialize::base64::{ToBase64, FromBase64, Standard, Config};
+use header::{Header, HeaderFormat};
+
+/// The `Authorization` header field.
+#[deriving(Clone, PartialEq, Show)]
+pub struct Authorization<S: Scheme>(pub S);
+
+impl<S: Scheme> Header for Authorization<S> {
+    fn header_name(_: Option<Authorization<S>>) -> &'static str {
+        "Authorization"
+    }
+
+    fn parse_header(raw: &[Vec<u8>]) -> Option<Authorization<S>> {
+        if raw.len() == 1 {
+            match (from_utf8(unsafe { raw[].unsafe_get(0)[] }), Scheme::scheme(None::<S>)) {
+                (Some(header), Some(scheme))
+                    if header.starts_with(scheme) && header.len() > scheme.len() + 1 => {
+                    from_str::<S>(header[scheme.len() + 1..]).map(|s| Authorization(s))
+                },
+                (Some(header), None) => from_str::<S>(header).map(|s| Authorization(s)),
+                _ => None
+            }
+        } else {
+            None
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl<S: Scheme> HeaderFormat for Authorization<S> {
+    fn fmt_header(&self, fmt: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result {
+        match Scheme::scheme(None::<S>) {
+            Some(scheme) => try!(write!(fmt, "{} ", scheme)),
+            None => ()
+        };
+        self.0.fmt_scheme(fmt)
+    }
+}
+
+/// An Authorization scheme to be used in the header.
+pub trait Scheme: FromStr + Send + Sync {
+    /// An optional Scheme name.
+    ///
+    /// For example, `Basic asdf` has the name `Basic`. The Option<Self> is
+    /// just a marker that can be removed once UFCS is completed.
+    fn scheme(Option<Self>) -> Option<&'static str>;
+    /// Format the Scheme data into a header value.
+    fn fmt_scheme(&self, &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result;
+}
+
+impl Scheme for String {
+    fn scheme(_: Option<String>) -> Option<&'static str> {
+        None
+    }
+
+    fn fmt_scheme(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result {
+        self.fmt(f)
+    }
+}
+
+/// Credential holder for Basic Authentication
+#[deriving(Clone, PartialEq, Show)]
+pub struct Basic {
+    /// The username as a possibly empty string
+    pub username: String,
+    /// The password. `None` if the `:` delimiter character was not
+    /// part of the parsed input.
+    pub password: Option<String>
+}
+
+impl Scheme for Basic {
+    fn scheme(_: Option<Basic>) -> Option<&'static str> {
+        Some("Basic")
+    }
+
+    fn fmt_scheme(&self, f: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> fmt::Result {
+        //FIXME: serialize::base64 could use some Show implementation, so
+        //that we don't have to allocate a new string here just to write it
+        //to the formatter.
+        let mut text = self.username.clone();
+        text.push(':');
+        if let Some(ref pass) = self.password {
+            text.push_str(pass[]);
+        }
+        text.as_bytes().to_base64(Config {
+            char_set: Standard,
+            pad: true,
+            line_length: None
+        }).fmt(f)
+    }
+}
+
+impl FromStr for Basic {
+    fn from_str(s: &str) -> Option<Basic> {
+        match s.from_base64() {
+            Ok(decoded) => match String::from_utf8(decoded) {
+                Ok(text) => {
+                    let mut parts = text[].split(':');
+                    let user = match parts.next() {
+                        Some(part) => part.into_string(),
+                        None => return None
+                    };
+                    let password = match parts.next() {
+                        Some(part) => Some(part.into_string()),
+                        None => None
+                    };
+                    Some(Basic {
+                        username: user,
+                        password: password
+                    })
+                },
+                Err(e) => {
+                    debug!("Basic::from_utf8 error={}", e);
+                    None
+                }
+            },
+            Err(e) => {
+                debug!("Basic::from_base64 error={}", e);
+                None
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use std::io::MemReader;
+    use super::{Authorization, Basic};
+    use super::super::super::{Headers};
+
+    fn mem(s: &str) -> MemReader {
+        MemReader::new(s.as_bytes().to_vec())
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_raw_auth() {
+        let mut headers = Headers::new();
+        headers.set(Authorization("foo bar baz".into_string()));
+        assert_eq!(headers.to_string(), "Authorization: foo bar baz\r\n".to_string());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_raw_auth_parse() {
+        let headers = Headers::from_raw(&mut mem("Authorization: foo bar baz\r\n\r\n")).unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(headers.get::<Authorization<String>>().unwrap().0[], "foo bar baz");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_basic_auth() {
+        let mut headers = Headers::new();
+        headers.set(Authorization(Basic { username: "Aladdin".into_string(), password: Some("open sesame".into_string()) }));
+        assert_eq!(headers.to_string(), "Authorization: Basic QWxhZGRpbjpvcGVuIHNlc2FtZQ==\r\n".into_string());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_basic_auth_no_password() {
+        let mut headers = Headers::new();
+        headers.set(Authorization(Basic { username: "Aladdin".to_string(), password: None }));
+        assert_eq!(headers.to_string(), "Authorization: Basic QWxhZGRpbjo=\r\n".to_string());
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_basic_auth_parse() {
+        let headers = Headers::from_raw(&mut mem("Authorization: Basic QWxhZGRpbjpvcGVuIHNlc2FtZQ==\r\n\r\n")).unwrap();
+        let auth = headers.get::<Authorization<Basic>>().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(auth.0.username[], "Aladdin");
+        assert_eq!(auth.0.password, Some("open sesame".to_string()));
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_basic_auth_parse_no_password() {
+        let headers = Headers::from_raw(&mut mem("Authorization: Basic QWxhZGRpbjo=\r\n\r\n")).unwrap();
+        let auth = headers.get::<Authorization<Basic>>().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(auth.0.username.as_slice(), "Aladdin");
+        assert_eq!(auth.0.password, Some("".to_string()));
+    }
+
+}
diff --git a/src/header/common/mod.rs b/src/header/common/mod.rs
index e7fad24f..d177903a 100644
--- a/src/header/common/mod.rs
+++ b/src/header/common/mod.rs
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 //! is used, such as `ContentType(pub Mime)`.
 
 pub use self::accept::Accept;
+pub use self::authorization::Authorization;
 pub use self::connection::Connection;
 pub use self::content_length::ContentLength;
 pub use self::content_type::ContentType;
@@ -56,8 +57,8 @@ pub mod user_agent;
 /// Exposes the Location header.
 pub mod location;
 
-pub mod util;
-
+/// Exposes the Authorization header.
+pub mod authorization;
 
 fn from_comma_delimited<T: FromStr>(raw: &[Vec<u8>]) -> Option<Vec<T>> {
     if raw.len() != 1 {
@@ -85,3 +86,4 @@ fn fmt_comma_delimited<T: Show>(fmt: &mut fmt::Formatter, parts: &[T]) -> fmt::R
     }
     Ok(())
 }
+pub mod util;
diff --git a/src/header/common/util.rs b/src/header/common/util.rs
index 943578fa..f332e946 100644
--- a/src/header/common/util.rs
+++ b/src/header/common/util.rs
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ pub fn from_one_raw_str<T: FromStr>(raw: &[Vec<u8>]) -> Option<T> {
         return None;
     }
     // we JUST checked that raw.len() == 1, so raw[0] WILL exist.
-    match from_utf8(unsafe { raw.as_slice().unsafe_get(0).as_slice() }) {
+    match from_utf8(unsafe { raw[].unsafe_get(0)[] }) {
         Some(s) => FromStr::from_str(s),
         None => None
     }
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 9d4d4b16..f174a4b8 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
-#![feature(macro_rules, phase, default_type_params, if_let, slicing_syntax)]
+#![feature(macro_rules, phase, default_type_params, if_let, slicing_syntax,
+           tuple_indexing)]
 #![deny(missing_docs)]
 #![deny(warnings)]
 #![experimental]
@@ -125,6 +126,7 @@
 //! implement `Reader` and can be read to get the data out of a `Response`.
 //!
 
+extern crate serialize;
 extern crate time;
 extern crate url;
 extern crate openssl;