Herman Hollerith’s “Mechanical Clerk” and the Data Challenges of the U.S. Census

The late 19th century inventor Herman Hollerith devised an electric tabulating system in response to the challenge of processing an increasingly large volume of data documenting a fast-growing nation. When students investigate Hollerith’s “mechanical clerk,” they encounter an engineering solution shaped by constraints, tradeoffs, and social reaction. Read original article: Read More