#OTD in 1889, Herman Hollerith received a patent for his mechanical tabulator. Hollerith's machine revolutionized #DataProcessing for the 1890 Census. We continued to use improved versions of the technology until the 1950s. Learn more about #Hollerith and his invention: https://www.census.gov/library/photos/1880/herman-hollerith.html #CensusHistory #OTD #OnThisDayInHistory | U.S. Census Bureau

On this day on January 8, 1889, Herman Hollerith received a patent for the electro-mechanical tabulator that would revolutionize data processing and tabulation at the U.S. Census Bureau and worldwide. Learn more about Hollerith and his invention: https://go.usa.gov/xAnRA #CensusHistory | U.S. Census Bureau

In the 1880s, a punched card machine counted a nation (United States). By the 1880 U.S. Census, counting America’s population by hand took nearly a decade. With rapid population growth, officials feared the next census would be outdated before it was completed. Engineer Herman Hollerith developed an electromechanical tabulating system using punched cards to represent demographic data. Holes in specific positions encoded information such as age, gender, and occupation. For the 1890 Census, his ma