U.S. Census uses Hollerith Tabulating Machine

Herman Hollerith's electric tabulating machine, using punch cards, dramatically reduced the processing time for the U.S. Census from years to months, showcasing the power of automated data processing.

Significance

Marked the first large-scale application of automated data processing for statistical analysis, laying the foundational concept for analytics tools.

Key facts

Date
1890-06-01
Type
milestone
Location
Washington D.C., USA