Even though it may seem like standing desks are new technology and modern furniture for the work world, they have actually been around a very long time. In reality, there have been several authors and statesman in history who have used some form of a standing desk while writing or doing creative works.  People have found that using a standing desk is a great way to get your creative juices flowing! Here is a list of some of the famous people in history who have been known to use a form of a standing desk:

Famous People who Used Standing Desks in History

Ernest Hemingway, Writer

Ernest Hemingway is reported to have discovered the benefits of a standing desk from his editor at Charles Scribner’s Sons, Maxwell Perkins. In the book, Papa Hemingway: A Personal Memoir, biographer AE Hotchner describes Hemingway’s set-up in his home in Havana, “He never worked at the desk. Instead, he used a stand up work place he had fashioned out of a bookcase near his bed.”

“He never worked at the desk. Instead, he used a stand up work place he had fashioned out of a bookcase near his bed.”
– Biographer AE Hotchner, about Ernest Hemingway

Lewis Caroll, Writer

Lewis Caroll, the creator of Alice in Wonderland, was known by his biographer to stand at an upright desk while writing. Biographer Morton N. Cohen, said about Lewis Carroll, “Standing at the upright desk he always used while writing, he managed to breathe life and laughter onto the dry leaves of paper that lay before him.”

“Standing at the upright desk he always used while writing, he managed to breathe life and laughter onto the dry leaves of paper that lay before him.”

– Biographer Morton N. Cohen, about Lewis Carroll

Virginia Woolf, Writer

Virginia Woolf’s nephew and biographer, Quentin Bell, said that Woolf worked at “a desk standing about three feet six inches high with a sloping top; it was so high that she had to stand to her work.”

Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father & Author

Benjamin Franklin was depicted using a standing desk on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post in 1926.

Charles Dickens, Writer

Charles Dickens was quoted as saying this about movement and writing, “Prowling about the rooms, sitting down, getting up, stirring the fire, looking out the window, teasing my hair, sitting down to write, writing nothing, writing something and tearing it up…” A visitor described Dickens workspace as, “…Books all round, up to the ceiling and down to the ground; a standing desk at which he writes; and all manner of comfortable easy chairs.”

“Prowling about the rooms, sitting down, getting up, stirring the fire, looking out the window, teasing my hair, sitting down to write, writing nothing, writing something and tearing it up…”

— Charles Dickens, Writer

Stan Lee, Comic Book Writer

Stan Lee is known for writing the popular comics such as Spiderman, X-Men, and the Fantastic IV from a standing desk.  In a photo of Lee outside standing at a desk with a typewriter, the caption says, “Always wrote standing up — good for the figure — and always faced the sun — good for the suntan!”

“Always wrote standing up — good for the figure — and always faced the sun — good for the suntan!”

– Caption on Stan Lee Photo depciting him writing at standing desk outside

We love learning that using a standing desk is not a just trendy workplace hack or a newly discovered way to be productive and healthy… but rather an adapted technology that the great minds of our past used for centuries!

If you are considering a standing desk, HealthPostures offers many different standing desk options, from desktop converters to adjustable legs, and sit-stand chairs. If you are interested in learning about the HealthPostures ergonomic sit-stand products, give us a call at 800-277-1841 or contact us here.