Herman Hollerith

• Herman Hollerith lived from 1860 to 1929.
• He was born in New York and lived there for most of his life. By the young age of 19, Herman Hollerith had already graduated with an EM degree.
• Herman Hollerith invented the Hollerith Machine after seeing there could be a more efficient way than manually counting people while working for the Census Office. He utilized punch card mechanisms made by the likes of Charles Babbage and Joseph Jacquard. Hollerith's machine could process up to 80 punch cards. Also, Hollerith used electrical connections to successfully execute the Hollerith Machine. This was the first electric tabulating machine installed in a government office.
• The Hollerith Machine was an important predecessor to the first electronic computer, the ENIAC.
• Hollerith helped create IBM as well as the original IBM PC.
• Interesting Fact: For a little while, Hollerith taught mechanical engineering courses at MIT but decided to quit this job because of his dislike of teaching.