Check out this giant electric accounting machine! It's a combination typewriter and adding machine that is basically the electromechanical Excel of its day.
@kyle Lotus 1-2-3 might argue with you, but Excel certainly took advantage of Microsoft's anti-competitive monopoly. Excel has never been the most capable. Recently I encountered it's limit on number of digits supported. Luckily Gnome's spreadsheet program didn't have that limitation. :-)
@lwriemen I'd consider it praise. I think you can make a strong argument that spreadsheet software in general and Excel specifically is the most consequential and most important single piece of software for business.