VisiCalc was the first spreadsheet program for personal computers, released in 1979.
Developed by Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston, VisiCalc was originally released for the Apple II on October 17, 1979. Its grid of cells allowed users to enter figures and formulas, then instantly recalculate results when assumptions changed.
Bricklin conceived the idea after watching a Harvard Business School professor repeatedly erase and rewrite a financial model on a blackboard. Frankston helped turn that idea into working software at their company, Software Arts. VisiCalc’s familiar paper-spreadsheet metaphor made complex financial modeling accessible to people who were not programmers.
VisiCalc became the Apple II’s landmark “killer application,” helping shift personal computers from hobbyist machines toward serious business tools. Lotus 1-2-3 later surpassed it, while Microsoft Excel became dominant much later. Earlier mainframe and timesharing systems performed spreadsheet-like calculations, but VisiCalc is the standard answer for the first spreadsheet program created for personal computers.