diff --git a/bin/restclient b/bin/restclient
index aed4b93..e869686 100755
--- a/bin/restclient
+++ b/bin/restclient
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ if File.exists? ".irbrc"
 	ENV['IRBRC'] = ".irbrc"
 end
 
-if File.exists?(rcfile = "~/.restclientrc")
+if File.exists?( File.expand_path(rcfile = "~/.restclientrc") )
 	load(rcfile)
 end
 
diff --git a/history.md b/history.md
index eff000c..4b37dad 100644
--- a/history.md
+++ b/history.md
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 - only converts headers keys which are Symbols
 - use CGI for cookie parsing instead of custom code
 - unescape user and password before using them (patch provided by Lars Gierth)
+- expand ~ in ~/.restclientrc (patch provided by Mike Fletcher)
 
 # 1.5.0