The Counting Machine — Data Village · Data Stories
Counting millions of people by hand took years. Herman Hollerith invented a machine with punch cards. Data Stories · MyLeoNes.
Counting millions of people by hand took years. Herman Hollerith invented a machine with punch cards.
The Story
In the United States, the 1880 census took about eight years to count by hand. Herman Hollerith invented a machine that read punch cards with electric currents and added up the answers on dials.
For the 1890 census, with Hollerith’s machines, the first total count of the population was ready in about six weeks. Hollerith’s company later joined others, and in 1924 became IBM. Punch cards were used in computers for decades.
Key Ideas
- Census: Counting everyone in a country and finding out how they live.
- Punch card: A card with holes in different places. Each hole means a different answer.
- Tabulate: Organising and adding up the data in tables.
- Automate: Getting a machine to do a repetitive job for you.
Step by Step
- Write the questions.
- Record each answer on a card.
- The machine reads the holes.
- The dials add up.
- You read the totals.
Try it Yourself
Make paper cards for your family: a hole in one corner if they like soup, another if they like fruit. Put a pencil through the holes to count quickly.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 1880 and 1890 censuses
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