Dan Bricklin
Co-creator of VisiCalc, the first spreadsheet program
- Age
- 75 yrs
- Birthday in 253 days
- Works listed
- 1
- Software
- Honours
- 1
- Most recent 1981
- Profile views
- 0
- 0 followers
Dan Bricklin is an American software engineer who conceived VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet for personal computers, while a Harvard Business School student. Written with Bob Frankston and released in 1979, it became the Apple II’s “killer app”.
Biography
Background
Bricklin studied electrical engineering and computer science at MIT and worked at DEC on word-processing software.
The idea
At Harvard Business School in 1978 he watched a professor recalculate financial tables by hand and imagined a “magic blackboard” on a computer screen.
VisiCalc
With his friend Bob Frankston, he founded Software Arts and released VisiCalc for the Apple II in 1979. It sold hundreds of thousands of copies and made businesses buy personal computers.
Later
They did not patent the spreadsheet. Bricklin founded Software Garden and Trellix and has written apps for tablets.
Timeline
-
1951
Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
-
1973
Graduates from MIT
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1978
Conceives the spreadsheet
-
1979
VisiCalc released
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1985
Founds Software Garden
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1995
Founds Trellix
Notable works
-
1979
VisiCalc Software
With Bob Frankston.
Awards and honours
-
Grace Murray Hopper Award
1981
Did you know?
-
1
He was advised software patents were unlikely, so the spreadsheet was never patented.
-
2
VisiCalc’s prototype was written in Apple BASIC.
-
3
He has a blog with VisiCalc history.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Dan Bricklin?
Dan Bricklin is an American software engineer who conceived VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet for personal computers, while a Harvard Business School student. Written with Bob Frankston and released in 1979, it became the Apple II’s “killer app”.
How old is Dan Bricklin?
Dan Bricklin is 75 years old, born on 16 July 1951 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
Where is Dan Bricklin from?
Dan Bricklin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
What is Dan Bricklin known for?
Dan Bricklin is best known for Co-creating VisiCalc (1979) with Bob Frankston; Software Arts; Software Garden.
What awards has Dan Bricklin received?
Notable honours include Grace Murray Hopper Award (1981).
References
- Dan Bricklin — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Dan Bricklin — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. www.bricklin.com. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Dan Bricklin (Q92624) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Dan Bricklin”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Dan Bricklin.” TrackFame, last updated 4 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/dan-bricklin
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