The first
spreadsheet program Visicalc (for "visible calculator") was released for the
Apple II on October 17, 1979. It was developed by Dan Bricklin of Software Arts, and was then produced for distribution by Personal Software.
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An example VisiCalc spreadsheet on an Apple II |
Sales were initially brisk, with about 300,000 copies sold. It eventually sold over 700,000 copies in six years, and as many as 1 million copies over its history.
VisiCalc is often considered the application that turned the microcomputer from a hobby for computer enthusiasts into a serious business tool, prompting IBM to introduce the IBM PC two years later.
Spreadsheet Day commemorates on October 17 every year the date that VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program for personal computers, was released.