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Herman Hollerith and the US Census
How the 1890 US Census caused the birth of IBM
Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution mandates a census to be conducted every ten years, to count the population and to ensure a fair distribution of seats in the House of Representatives among the states.
After the first census, conducted in 1790, the House of Representatives decided to allow each state one representative for every 33,000 people. With every ten-year census, as the population grew, the total number of House seats would increase accordingly and Congress would take action to readjust the distribution of House seats according to the new population data.
The 1880 U.S. Census collected information on five major categories for the first time: Population, Mortality, Agriculture, Social Statistics, and Manufactures. It took nearly seven years to complete. Given the increase in the collected data and the population growth, it was estimated that the 1890 census would take around ten years to complete, highlighting a major problem to be resolved before conducting the census. The Census Bureau needed to find a more efficient way to organize data collection and processing.
Herman Hollerith
Herman Hollerith (1860–1929), the son of German immigrants, was born in Buffalo, New…
