Tabulating machine
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~12 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Hollerith 1890 tabulating machine with sorting box. Hollerith punched card
The tabulating machine was an electromechanical machine designed to assist in summarizing information stored on punched cards. Invented by Herman Hollerith, the machine was developed to help process data for the 1890 U.S. Census. Later models were widely used for business applications such as accounting and inventory control. It spawned a class of machines, known as unit record equipment, and the data processing industry.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Tabulating machine” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.