What is the origin of descriptive notation? Algebraic Notation is the modern standard for recording chess games. It is easily human-readable, yet it can be parsed by computers without difficulty.

Descriptive notation predates algebraic significantly. Essentially all English-language chess literature from 1960 or earlier records moves descriptively. The Wikipedia article doesn't provide sources for who developed this notation or when it emerged. There's an unsubstantiated reference on the Chess Notation Wikipedia page to 18th century usage, and it claims that Philidor's defeat of Philip Stamma stunted the growth of algebraic notation. Hence the question:

Is there any history as to when descriptive chess notation emerged, and who developed it?
AFAIK, Edward Lasker (not Emmanuel) Lasker was the only master player resident in the USA to publish in Algebraic before the 1970s, substituting English initials for the German he would have used before immigrating. Not only are Bobby Fischer's books in Descriptive, so are his scoresheets.

I don't know about 18th Century usage, but I have read 19th Century British works that use a descriptive phrase like "King to his third square" for K-K3, either Ke6 or Ke3 (the color being obvious by whose turn it is to play). The transition from phrasing to a strictly symbolic Descriptive notation, I can't help with.