The Diary of a Young Girl at the Anne Frank Zentrum

A diary is a

written Writing is the act of creating a persistent representation of language. A writing system includes a particular set of symbols called a ''script'', as well as the rules by which they encode a particular spoken language. Every written language ...

audiovisual Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions. Audiovisual service provide ...

memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by

date Date or dates may refer to: * Date, the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') * Jujube, also known as red date or Chinese date, the fruit of ''Ziziphus jujuba'' Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activi ...

reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...

. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, thoughts, and/or feelings, excluding comments on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone who keeps a diary is known as a

diarist A diary is a writing, written or audiovisual Memorabilia, memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by Calendar date, date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwriti ...

. Diaries undertaken for institutional purposes play a role in many aspects of human civilization, including government records (e.g. ''

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...

''), business

ledger A ledger is a book or collection of accounts in which accounting transactions are recorded. Each account has: * an opening or brought-forward balance; *a list of transactions, each recorded as either a debit or credit in separate columns (usu ...

s, and military records. In British English, the word may also denote a preprinted journal format. Today the term is generally employed for personal diaries, normally intended to remain private or to have a limited circulation amongst friends or relatives. The word "

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of personal secretive thoughts and as open book to personal therapy or used to feel connected to onesel ...

" may be sometimes used for "diary," but generally a diary has (or intends to have) daily entries (from the Latin word for 'day'), whereas journal-writing can be less frequent. Although a diary may provide information for a

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curri ...

, it is generally written not with the intention of being published as it stands, but for the author's own use. In recent years, however, there is internal evidence in some diaries (e.g. those of

Ned Rorem Ned Miller Rorem (October 23, 1923 – November 18, 2022) was an American composer of contemporary classical music and a writer. Best known for his art songs, which number over 500, Rorem was considered the leading American of his time writing i ...

Alan Clark Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark (13 April 1928 – 5 September 1999) was a British Conservative Member of Parliament (MP), author and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Tr ...

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and political activist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabine ...

Simon Gray Simon James Holliday Gray (21 October 1936 – 7 August 2008) was an English playwright and memoirist who also had a career as a Academia, university lecturer in English literature at Queen Mary, University of London, for 20 years. While teach ...

) that they are written with eventual publication in mind, with the intention of self-vindication (pre- or posthumous), or simply for profit. By extension, the term ''diary'' is also used to mean a printed publication of a written diary; and may also refer to other terms of journal including electronic formats (e.g.

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

s).

Etymology

The word '

diary A diary is a written or audiovisual memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digita ...

' comes from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

("daily allowance," from , "day"). The word 'journal' comes from the same root (, "of the day") through the

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

for 'day' being ). The earliest recorded use of the word 'diary' to refer to a book in which a daily record was written was in Ben Jonson's comedy ''Volpone'' in 1605.

History

The earliest known book resembling a diary is the Diary of Merer, an ancient Egyptian logbook whose author described the transportation of limestone from Tura to

Giza Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah, Gizeh, Geeza, Jiza''; , , ' ) is the third-largest city in Egypt by area after Cairo and Alexandria; and fourth-largest city in Africa by population after Kinshasa, Lagos, and Cairo. It is the capital of ...

, likely to clad the outside of the

Great Pyramid The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It served as the tomb of pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Built , over a period of about 26 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wond ...

. The oldest extant diaries come from

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

ern and

East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...

n cultures, although the even earlier work ''To Myself'' (), today known as the ''

Meditations ''Meditations'' () is a series of personal writings by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from 161–180 AD, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy. Composition Marcus Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the ''Meditations'' i ...

'', written in Greek by the Roman emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

in the second half of the 2nd century AD, already displays many characteristics of a diary.

Pillowbook is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 1000s in Heian-period Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002. The work is a collection ...

s of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese court ladies and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n travel journals offer some aspects of this genre of writing, although they rarely consist exclusively of diurnal records. In the medieval Near East,

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

diaries were written from before the 10th century. The earliest surviving diary of this era which most resembles the modern diary was that of

Abu Ali ibn al-Banna Abu Ali ibn al-Banna, full name Abū 'Alī al-Ḥasan ibn Aḥmad ibn 'Abd Allāh ibn al-Bannā' al-Baghdādī al-Ḥanbalī, was an 11th-century author, scholar, and diarist from Baghdad. According to Ibn al-Sam'ani, he was one of the leading Isl ...

in the 11th century. His diary is the earliest known to be arranged in order of date ( in Arabic), very much like modern diaries. The precursors of the diary in the modern sense include daily notes of medieval mystics, concerned mostly with inward emotions and outward events perceived as spiritually important (e.g.

Elizabeth of Schönau Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ( ...

Agnes Blannbekin Agnes Blannbekin (; – 10 March 1315) was an Austrian Beguine and Christian mystic. She was also referred to as ''Saint Agnes Blannbekin'' or the ''Venerable Agnes Blannbekin'', though never beatified or canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. ...

, and perhaps also, in the lost vernacular account of her visions,

Beatrice of Nazareth Beatrice of Nazareth (; 1200 – 1268), also known as Beatrice of Tienen, was a Flemish Cistercian nun, visionary and mystic. Remembered chiefly through a medieval adaptation of her writings, of which the originals are now mostly lost, ...

). From the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

on, some individuals wanted not only to record events, as in medieval chronicles and itineraries, but also to put down their own opinions and express their hopes and fears, without any intention to publish these notes. One of the early preserved examples is the anonymous covering the years 1405–1449, giving subjective commentaries on current events. Famous 14th to 16th century Renaissance examples, which appeared much later as books, were the diaries by the Florentines

Buonaccorso Pitti Buonaccorso Pitti was a prominent Florentine merchant in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. His family was very prestigious and his father very involved in politics. He was a gambler and often made unsafe investments, though he managed to make ...

and Gregorio Dati and the Venetian

Marino Sanuto the Younger Marin Sanudo, born Marin Sanudo de Candia, italianised as Marino Sanuto or Sanuto the Younger (May 22, 1466 – 1536), was a Republic of Venice, Venetian historian and diarist. His most significant work is his ''Diarii'', which he had intended to w ...

. These diaries include records of even less important everyday occurrences together with much reflection, emotional experience and personal impressions. In 1908, the Smythson company created the first featherweight diary, enabling diaries to be carried about.

Published diaries

Many diaries of notable figures have been published and form an important element of

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

literature.

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

(1633–1703) is the earliest diarist who is well known today; his diaries, preserved in

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

, were first transcribed and published in 1825. Pepys was amongst the first who took the diary beyond mere business transaction notation, into the realm of the personal. Pepys' contemporary

John Evelyn John Evelyn (31 October 162027 February 1706) was an English writer, landowner, gardener, courtier and minor government official, who is now best known as a diary, diarist. He was a founding Fellow of the Royal Society. John Evelyn's Diary, ...

also kept a notable diary, and their works are among the most important

primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an Artifact (archaeology), artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was cre ...

s for the

English Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

period, and consist of

eyewitness Eyewitness or eye witness may refer to: Witness * Witness, someone who has knowledge acquired through first-hand experience ** Eyewitness memory ** Eyewitness testimony Eyewitness testimony is the account a bystander or victim gives in the court ...

accounts of many great events, such as the

Great Plague of London The Great Plague of London, lasting from 1665 to 1666, was the most recent major epidemic of the bubonic plague to occur in England. It happened within the centuries-long Second plague pandemic, Second Pandemic, a period of intermittent buboni ...

, and the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

. The practice of posthumous publication of diaries of literary and other notables began in the 19th century. As examples, the ''Grasmere Journal'' of

Dorothy Wordsworth Dorothy Wordsworth (25 December 1771 – 25 January 1855) was an English author, poet, and diarist. She was the sister of the Romanticism, Romantic poet William Wordsworth, and the two were close all their adult lives. Dorothy Wordsworth had ...

(1771–1855) was published in 1897; the journals of

Fanny Burney Frances Burney (13 June 1752 – 6 January 1840), also known as Fanny Burney and later Madame d'Arblay, was an English satirical novelist, diarist and playwright. In 1786–1790 she held the post of "Keeper of the Robes" to Charlotte of Mecklen ...

(1752–1840) were published in 1889; the diaries of

Henry Crabb Robinson Henry Crabb Robinson (13 May 1775 – 5 February 1867) was an English lawyer, remembered as a diarist. He took part in founding London University. Life Robinson was born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, as the third and youngest son of Henry Robin ...

(1776–1867) were published in 1869. Among important U.S. Civil War diaries are those of

George Templeton Strong George Templeton Strong (January 26, 1820 – July 21, 1875) was an American lawyer, musician and diarist. His 2,250-page diary, discovered in the 1930s, provides a striking personal account of life in the 19th century, especially during the eve ...

, a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

lawyer, and Mary Chesnut, the wife of a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

officer. The diary of Jemima Condict, living in the area of what is now

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from t ...

, includes local observations of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. Since the 19th century the publication of diaries by their authors has become commonplace – notably amongst politicians seeking justification but also amongst artists and litterateurs of all descriptions. Amongst late 20th-century British published political diaries, those of

Richard Crossman Richard Howard Stafford Crossman (15 December 1907 – 5 April 1974) was a British Labour Party politician. A university classics lecturer by profession, he was elected a Member of Parliament in 1945 and became a significant figure among the ...

and

are representative, the latter being more indiscreet, in the tradition of the diaries of Chips Channon. In Britain in the field of the arts notable diaries were published by

James Lees-Milne (George) James Henry Lees-Milne (6 August 1908 – 28 December 1997) was an English writer and expert on country houses, who worked for the National Trust from 1936 to 1973. He was an architectural historian, novelist and biographer. His extens ...

Roy Strong Sir Roy Colin Strong, (born 23 August 1935) is an English art historian, museum curator, writer, broadcaster and landscape designer. He has served as director of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. ...

and Peter Hall.

Harold Nicolson Sir Harold George Nicolson (21 November 1886 – 1 May 1968) was a British politician, writer, broadcaster and gardener. His wife was Vita Sackville-West. Early life and education Nicolson was born in Tehran, Persia, the youngest son of dipl ...

in the mid-20th century covered both politics and the arts. One of the most famous modern diaries, widely read and translated, is the posthumously published ''

The Diary of a Young Girl ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', commonly referred to as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch language, Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Neth ...

'' by

Anne Frank Annelies Marie Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – February or March 1945)Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new li ...

, who wrote it while in hiding during the German occupation of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

in the 1940s.

Otto Frank Otto Heinrich Frank (12 May 1889 – 19 August 1980) was a German businessman, and the father of Anne Frank. He edited and published the first edition of her diary in 1947 (subsequently known in English as ''The Diary of a Young Girl'') and adv ...

edited his daughter's diary and arranged for its publication after the war. Many edits were made before the diary was published in other countries. This was due to sexually explicit material, which also led to some libraries banning the book. The writing of diaries was also often practiced from the 20th century onwards as a conscious act of self-exploration (of greater or lesser sincerity) – examples being the diaries of

Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...

Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...

and

Anaïs Nin Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell ( ; ; February 21, 1903 – January 14, 1977) was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, Nin was the d ...

. Among important diaries by 20th-century literary figures are those of

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

Edmund Wilson Edmund Wilson Jr. (May 8, 1895 – June 12, 1972) was an American writer, literary critic, and journalist. He is widely regarded as one of the most important literary critics of the 20th century. Wilson began his career as a journalist, writing ...

and the French writer Paul Léautaud (1872–1956). The self-reflective '' Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul'' written by Saint Faustina contains accounts of her visions and conversations with Jesus. A strong psychological effect may arise from having an audience for one's self-expression, even if this is the book one writes in, only read by oneself – particularly in adversity. Anne Frank went so far as to address her diary as "Kitty."

Friedrich Kellner August Friedrich Kellner (1 February 1885 – 4 November 1970) was a German mid-level official and diarist who worked as a justice inspector in Laubach from 1933 to 1945. Kellner was an infantryman in a Hessian regiment during the First Wor ...

, a court official in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, thought of his diary as a weapon for any future fight against tyrants and terrorism, and named it , ''

My Opposition ''My Opposition'' () is a diary secretly written by the German social democrat Friedrich Kellner (1885–1970) during World War II to describe life under Nazi Germany and to expose the propaganda and the crimes of the Nazi dictatorship. Comprisi ...

''.

Victor Klemperer Victor Klemperer (9 October 188111 February 1960) was a German literary scholar and diarist. His journals, published posthumously in Germany in 1995, detailed his life under the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, the fascist Nazi Germany, Third ...

was similarly concerned with recording for the future the tyrannies and hypocrisies of Nazi Germany and of its

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

successor state in his diaries. However in these cases, the authors didn't anticipate publication.

Internet diaries

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

access became commonly available, many people adopted it as another medium in which to chronicle their lives with the added dimension of an audience. The first

online diary An online diary or web diary, is a personal diary or journal that is published on the World Wide Web on a personal website or a diary-hosting website. Overview Online diaries have existed since at least 1994. As a community formed, these publica ...

is thought to be Claudio Pinhanez's ''Open Diary'', published at the

MIT Media Lab The MIT Media Lab is a research laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, growing out of MIT's Architecture Machine Group in the MIT School of Architecture and Planning, School of Architecture. Its research does not restrict to fi ...

website from 14 November 1994 until 1996. Other early online diarists include

Justin Hall Justin Hall (born December 16, 1974, in Chicago, Illinois) is an Americans, American journalist and entrepreneur, best known as a pioneer blogger. Biography Born in Chicago, Hall graduated Francis W. Parker School (Chicago), Francis W. Parker ...

, who began eleven years of personal online diary-writing in 1994, Carolyn Burke, who started publishing ''Carolyn's Diary'' on 3 January 1995, and Bryon Sutherland, who announced his diary ''The Semi-Existence of Bryon'' in a

USENET Usenet (), a portmanteau of User's Network, is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose UUCP, Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Elli ...

newsgroup on 19 April 1995. The internet has also served as a way to bring previously unpublished diaries to the attention of historians and other readers, such as the diary of

Michael Shiner Michael G. Shiner (c. 1805–1880) was an African-American Washington Navy Yard, Navy Yard worker and diarist who chronicled events in Washington D.C. for more than 60 years, first as a Slavery in the United States, slave and later as a Free negro ...

, an enslaved person in the 19th century who documented his life in Washington, D.C. Web-based services such as

Open Diary Open Diary (often abbreviated as "OD") is an online diary community, an early example of social networking software. It was founded on October 20, 1998. Open Diary went offline on February 7, 2014, but was re-launched on January 26, 2018. The si ...

(started in October 1998) and

LiveJournal LiveJournal (), stylised as LiVEJOURNAL, is a Russian-owned social networking service where users can keep a blog, journal, or diary. American programmer Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal on April 15, 1999, as a way of keeping his high school ...

(January 1999) soon appeared to streamline and automate

online publishing Electronic publishing (also referred to as e-publishing, digital publishing, or online publishing) includes the digital publication of e-books, digital magazines, and the development of digital libraries and catalogues. It also includes the edit ...

, but growth in personal storytelling came with the emergence of

s. While the format first focused on external links and topical commentary, widespread blogging tools were quickly used to create web journals. Recent advances have also been made to enable the privacy of internet diary entries. For example, some diary software now stores entries in an encrypted format, such as 256-bit AES (

Advanced Encryption Standard The Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), also known by its original name Rijndael (), is a specification for the encryption of electronic data established by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in 2001. AES is a variant ...

) encryption, and others only permit access to the diary after correct PIN entry on a secure USB device.

Digital diaries

With the popularization of

mobile apps A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

, diary or journaling apps have become available for

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

and Android. Proponents have cited numerous reasons for journaling using digital applications, including ease and speed of typing, mobile portability, and search capabilities. Digital diaries are also tailored towards shorter-form, in-the-moment writing, similar to user engagement with social media services such as

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

and

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

. Apple released a

app with its iOS 17.2 update, pulling suggestions for entries based on locations the user has visited, music they have listened to, and photos from their photo library alongside prompts.

Other forms of diaries

Personal organizer

A personal organizer is a form of diary to list actions and tasks for the day, which are recorded in a log, often using symbols to differentiate and categorize items.

Freewriting

In free writing, the diarist sets aside a few minutes each day to write without any constraints, letting thoughts flow freely and allowing the subconscious mind to express itself. Freewriting can unearth hidden thoughts and emotions, fostering self-discovery.

Gardening journal

A gardening journal helps gardeners improve their efforts over time by providing a historical record of actions taken, the weather and other elements, and the results.

Gratitude journal

A gratitude journal is a diary of things for which someone is grateful. Keeping a gratitude journal is a popular practice in the field of

positive psychology Positive psychology is the scientific study of conditions and processes that contribute to positive psychological states (e.g., contentment, joy), well-being, Positive psychology of relationships, positive relationships, and positive institutio ...

Sleep diary

A sleep diary or sleep log is a tool used in the diagnosis and treatment of

sleep disorder A sleep disorder, or somnipathy, is a medical disorder affecting an individual's sleep patterns, sometimes impacting physical, mental, social, and emotional functioning. Polysomnography and actigraphy are tests commonly ordered for diagnosing sle ...

s or to keep track of dreams had in order to gain insight to the subconscious or for further contemplation.

''Tagebuch''

The

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

''Tagebuch'' ('days-book') is normally rendered as "diary" in English, but the term encompasses workbooks or working journals as well as diaries proper.Cf. Andreas Dorschel, 'Denktagebücher: Zur Poetik des philosophischen Journals', ''Philosophische Rundschau'' LX (2013), no. 4, pp. 264–298. For example, the notebooks of the Austrian writer

Robert Musil Robert Musil (; 6 November 1880 – 15 April 1942) was an Austrian philosophical writer. His unfinished novel, ''The Man Without Qualities'' (), is generally considered to be one of the most important and influential modernist novels. Family M ...

and of the German-Swiss artist

Paul Klee Paul Klee (; 18 December 1879 – 29 June 1940) was a Swiss-born German artist. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. Klee was a natural draftsman who experimented wi ...

are called ''Tagebücher''.

Travel journal

A travel journal, travel diary, or road journal, is the documentation of a journey or series of journeys.

War diary

A war diary is a regularly updated official record of a military unit's administration and activities during wartime maintained by an officer in the unit. Such diaries can form an important source of historical information, for example about long and complex battles in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Fictional diaries

There are numerous examples of

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

al diaries. One of the earliest printed fictional diaries was the humorous '' Diary of a Nobody'' by

George Grossmith George Grossmith (9 December 1847 – 1 March 1912) was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades. As a writer and composer, he created 18 comic operas, nearly 100 musical ...

and his brother Weedon. 20th-century examples include radio broadcasts (e.g. ''

Mrs. Dale's Diary ''Mrs Dale's Diary'' (known as ''The Dales'' from 1962 to 1969) was the first significant BBC Radio serial drama. It was first broadcast on 5 January 1948 on the BBC Light Programme, later BBC Radio 2, running until 25 April 1969. A new episode ...

'') and published books (e.g. the ''Diaries of

Adrian Mole Adrian Albert Mole is the fictional protagonist in a series of epistolary novels by English author Sue Townsend. The character first appeared (as "Nigel") as part of a comic diary featured in a short-lived arts magazine (called simply ''mag ...

''). Both prompted long-running

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

features in the magazine ''

Private Eye ''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely recognised ...

'': the former entitled ''

Mrs Wilson's Diary Prime Minister parodies are a long-running feature of the British satirical magazine ''Private Eye'', which have been included in the majority of issues since the magazine's inception. The parodies consist of one arch satirical personification of ...

'' in reference to Mary Wilson, wife of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

, the latter entitled ''The Secret Diary of John Major Aged 47¾'' and written as a pastiche of the

diaries from the perspective of the then-Prime Minister

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

. Another famous example of the use of fictional diaries as prose is Bram Stoker's ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...

''. A modern example includes the ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' series where each book of the series is written in a first-person view of the main character, as if the book were an actual diary. Other examples are the '' Bert Diaries'' and the cellphone diaries in the Japanese

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

and

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series ''

Future Diary is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Sakae Esuno. It was serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's '' Shōnen Ace'' between January 2006 and December 2010, and has been collected into 12 ''tankōbon'' volumes. The plot depicts the ...

''.

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Works about history