Record of Punching Cards at the New York Central for the Month of April 1904

Description:

From 1895 inventor Herman Hollerith wooed the New York Central Railroad as a commercial customer for his tabulating machines. This small paper card records his success. It reports that in April 1904, key punch operators at the Central punched a total of 428,502 cards, averaging 258 cards per clerk per hour. The record for one clerk was 70,535 cards punched, averaging 413 cards per hour.

Reference: G. D. Austrian, Hermann Hollerith: Forgotten Pioneer of Information Processing , New York: Columbia University Press, 1982, pp. 111–141.

Date Made: 1904

Location: Currently not on view

Web Subject: MathematicsSubject: Railroads

Subject:

See more items in: Medicine and Science: Mathematics, Computers & Business Machines, Tabulating Equipment

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Credit Line: Gift of the Estate of Herman Hollerith, Jr.

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 1977.0114.08.01Accession Number: 1977.0114Catalog Number: 1977.0114.08.01

Object Name: sheet

Physical Description: paper (overall material)Measurements: overall: .1 cm x 9 cm x 5.6 cm; 1/32 in x 3 17/32 in x 2 7/32 in

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a7-4aeb-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_905317

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