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

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

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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.
Location
Currently not on view
Object Name
sheet
date made
1904
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
ID Number
1977.0114.08.01
accession number
1977.0114
catalog number
1977.0114.08.01
Credit Line
Gift of the Estate of Herman Hollerith, Jr.
subject
Mathematics
Railroads
See more items in
Medicine and Science: Mathematics
Computers & Business Machines
Tabulating Equipment
Data Source
National Museum of American History
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