October 25, 1983: Microsoft Word Is Introduced

October 25, 1983: Microsoft debuts the program Multi-Tool Word. Eventually, it becomes known as simply Microsoft Word. It becomes the most popular word processing program in computing history, and I couldn't do most of what I do -- work or fun -- without it. Well, I could, but I'm so used to Word that I don't want to have to learn another system.

In 1981, Microsoft hired Charles Simonyi, the primary developer of Bravo, the first GUI word processor, which was developed at Xerox PARC. Simonyi started work on a word processor called Multi-Tool Word, and soon hired Richard Brodie, a former Xerox intern, who became the primary software engineer.

Free demonstration copies of the application were bundled with the November 1983 issue of PC World, making it the first to be distributed on-disk with a magazine. That year, Microsoft demonstrated Word running on Windows. The year before, recognizing the growth of the industry, instead of a "Man of the Year," Time magazine named the computer "Machine of the Year."

Unlike most MS-DOS programs at the time, Microsoft Word was designed to be used with a mouse. Advertisements depicted the Microsoft Mouse and described Word as a WYSIWYG (meaning "What You See Is What You Get"), windowed word processor, with the ability to undo, and display bold, italic, and underlined text, although it could not render fonts. It was not initially popular, since its user interface was different from the leading word processor at the time, WordStar.

Microsoft steadily improved the product, releasing versions 2.0 through 5.0 over the next six years. In 1985, Microsoft ported Word to the classic Mac OS (known as Macintosh System Software at the time). This was made easier by Word for DOS having been designed for use with high-resolution displays and laser printers, even though none were yet available to the general public. It was also notable for its very fast cut-and-paste function and unlimited number of undo operations, which are due to its usage of the piece table data structure.

Charles Simonyi defected from his native Hungary in 1965, at the age of 17, and has lived in America since 1968. As of October 25, 2022, the man known as "Mr. WYSIWYG" is still alive.

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October 25, 1983 was a Tuesday. This was also the day that President Ronald Reagan sent U.S. troops to invade Grenada, to protect Americans living there during a civil war. I have a separate entry for that event.

It was the middle of the week, so there were no football games. The baseball season had ended 9 days earlier, when the Baltimore Orioles beat the Philadelphia Phillies to win the World Series. The NBA season began 3 days later. The NHL season had gotten underway, and 7 games were played that day:

* The New York Islanders were the only team in the New York Tri-State Area in action, and lost to the Winnipeg Jets, 4-2 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The Minnesota North Stars beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3 at the Montreal Forum.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Quebec Nordiques, 4-2 at the Colisee de Quebec.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 1-0 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Boston Bruins, 5-1 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Hartford Whalers beat the Los Angeles Kings, 8-5 at The Forum in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California.

* And the Vancouver Canucks beat the St. Louis Blues, 7-1 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.