MSDS = Material Safety Data Sheet
 
NEW GHS (M)SDS format 2012
1 -- Product and Company Identification
2 -- Hazards Identification
3 -- Composition/Information on Ingredients
4 -- First Aid Measures
5 -- Fire Fighting Measures
6 -- Accidental Release Measures
7 -- Handling and Storage
8 -- Exposure Controls / Personal Prot
9 -- Physical and Chemical Properties
10 - Stability and Reactivity
11 - Toxicological Information
12 - Ecological Information
13 - Disposal Considerations
14 - Transport Information
15 - Regulatory Information
16 - Other Information
 WHAT IS IT?  A standard format summary of health hazards and recommended safe work practices for a chemical.   
The 16 - section MSDS is now very common (older ones have 9 sections, different standardized arrangement of info.)

MSDSs were "invented" in the early 1980s.  Before then, there was no such info available, no such requirement for it.