There have been notes similar to diaries as long as there has been writing.
In the 16th century diaries were public documents. Records were kept on economics and farming.
The first known diaries were log books kept by seafarers, as well as journals kept by soldiers and explorers.
In the 19th century, the Puritans developed a confessional, spiritual type of diary.
Diaries unravelling worldly feelings displaced their religious predecessors in the 18th century, after the reformation and renaissance had opened the road to personal thought.
In the 19th century, secret diaries often replaced correspondence, and they also took on the role of a trusted friend.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 6.12.2004
