What is the history of the aircraft logbook?
Similar to several other terms (e.g. port and starboard), the logging formats came from the shipping industry. Ship used to have detailed logs about their voyages.

Smithsonian states in an article:


  In a logbook from 1913, a pilot penned on one page the date of a
  flight, airplane used, passenger’s name, time aloft, and course flown.
  On the opposite page, he recorded height achieved, distance, weather,
  and remarks.


The above-mentioned article also tells:


  The Wright brothers kept detailed notebooks, recording dispassionately
  the results of their experiments in building the first airplane.


In the US, pilots are required to document their flights in logbooks (14 CFR 61.51). I doubt that logbooks would be optional anywhere in the world. In fact, if you do not log your flight, it is your loss more than anyone else's.