Tables related to the normal distribution: a short history

The need for numerical tables of $\int e^{-t^{2}}\mathit{dt}$ dt, especially in astronomy and probability theory, was recognized by Laplace as early as 1783, and the first such table was constructed by Kramp in 1799. In the following century many more accurate and more elaborate tables related to the basic integral were published. In 1903 Sheppard produced his famous tables of the standard normal cdf . (x). The present article traces these developments and outlines the various methods of construction used.