It may be difficult for people growing up in the age of computers and pocket calculators to appreciate the practical importance of logarithms. They were used for centuries as a computing tool by scientists making pencil-and-paper computations.
Logarithms were invented or discovered by [[John Napier]] in 1614AD, and quickly revolutionized astronomy. Johannes Kepler said that Napier "tripled the life of an astronomer."
For centuries, tables of logarithms were working tools of the scientist and engineer. Students and people doing rough calculations typically used a "table of four-place logarithms," which would fit on one or two pages. Such tables were printed in the back of virtually every physics book. For more precise work, longer tables with more places of precision were used, or entire volumes.
Closely associated with logarithms was a tool called the ''slide rule.'' A slide rule consists of ruled logarithmic scales. By manipulating the slide rule, one can graphically add together the logarithm of two numbers, which is equivalent to multiplying them. From about 1870 AD to 1970AD, slide rules were used by virtually every scientist and engineer. They were regarded as a symbol of engineering. Engineering students were identifiable by the ten-inch slide rules attached to their belts. Learning to use a slide rule was a fundamental skill taught in high-school mathematics classes.
The arrival of pocket-sized electronic [[calculator]]s brought an end to the practical use of the slide rule or the table of logarithms. A calculator can compute a logarithm to ten places in less time than it takes to turn to the right page in a book-sized table of logarithms.