Celebrating the Unsung Hero: The Spreadsheet

Looking at how and when it came about.

Spreadsheet Day was celebrated this month—an occasion to mark 42 years of the tool that has enhanced the business world and our personal lives so dearly.

Their use has spanned across many industries and professions, including financial, scientific, medical, and engineering. Some have been fast adopters—others much slower. But no one simply segued from pen and paper to computer overnight. Different forms of technology have always existed to assist us in our evolutionary journeys.

This article looks at how spreadsheets started and progressed to become the powerhouse they are today.

The Origins of Spreadsheets

Throughout history, people have written on a multitude of materials, including clay tablets, papyrus, parchment and vellum. For a long period even after the advent of paper 2000 years ago, other materials were still widespread due to availability and cost.

History is often nebulous, but it was suggested by Excel TV’s Szilvia Juhasz that the first semblance of a spreadsheet might have appeared 3800 years ago.

The Babylonian Clay Tablet from 1800 BC is thought to be the oldest and most accurate trigonometric table in the world. It’s…