Hollerith's Tabulating Machine for US Census

Name: Hollerith's Tabulating Machine for US Census
Start: 1890-01-01
Location: Washington D.C., USA

Hermann Hollerith's electromechanical tabulating machine, using punch cards, dramatically reduced the processing time for the 1890 US Census, proving the efficacy of automated data handling.

Significance

This marked the first large-scale, successful application of automated data processing for a complex statistical task, establishing the foundational concept of mechanical tabulation for reporting.

Key facts

Date: 1890-01-01
Type: invention
Location: Washington D.C., USA