Introduction
Microsoft Word is a word processing program developed by Microsoft. It was first released on October 25, 1983,[12] under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems.[13][14][15] Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including: IBM PCs running DOS (1983), Apple Macintosh running the Classic Mac OS (1985), AT&T UNIX PC (1985), Atari ST (1988), OS/2 (1989), Microsoft Windows (1989), SCO Unix (1990), Handheld PC (1996), Pocket PC (2000), macOS (2001), Web browsers (2010), iOS (2014), and Android (2015). Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard word processing software since the 1990s when it eclipsed WordPerfect.[16] Commercial versions of Word are licensed as a standalone product or as a component of Microsoft Office, which can be purchased with a perpetual license, or as part of the Microsoft 365 suite as a subscription.
History
In 1981, Microsoft hired Charles Simonyi, the primary developer of Bravo, the first GUI word processor, which was developed at Xerox PARC.[17] 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.
The Creator of MS Word
Microsoft announced Multi-Tool Word for Xenix[17] and MS-DOS in 1983.[20] Its name was soon simplified to Microsoft Word.[13] 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.[13][21] That year Microsoft demonstrated Word running on Windows.[22]
