Who Is Herman Hollerith?

1800 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Chapter 3 computer programming

1. Herman Hollerith was born on February 29, 1860 in Buffalo, New York. He graduated from the Columbia School of Mines in 1879 after studying engineering among various other topics. Shortly after, Herman worked as an assistant to his former teacher at the U.S. Census Bureau. Working as a statistician, he revealed the problems of dealing with large amounts of data by hand. The 1880s census took seven and a half years to complete, and the 1890s census was expected to take much longer due to the rise of immigration. While at the Census Bureau, he met his future wife Lucia Beverley Talcott. Her father gave Herman an idea for a device to speed up the census count. Her father got the idea from an automated loom, called a Jacquard loom, which automated …show more content…

The development of the abacus is still debated to this day. Some claim that it was developed in ancient China around 3000 BC. Some believe it was developed in ancient Mesopotamia around the same time. The time and place varies depending on what expert you ask. Regardless, it is a device made of wood and beads. The beads can go up and down on wooden cylinders covered by wooden rectangles on each side. Each bead has a specific value, and each column has a different division of ten, starting with one. Basic mathematics (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) are performed by moving appropriate beads to the middle of the abacus. The abacus was created to as a calculator for ancient man. It was small and easy to carry on one’s person. It was so successful that it spread from China to many other countries across Europe and Asia. There were different variations of the abacus depending on which country you were in. For example, the Russian abacus didn’t have the heaven and earth beads that the Chinese abacus had. Even the ancient Roman empire adopted use of the abacus. It was slightly different, in by you didn’t have cylinders with beads, but instead you moved counters on a smooth table. The Roman abacus was very much similar to the Greek abacus. The abacus was used world wise for nearly anything that dealt with counting, or calculation. It enjoyed much use in trade and commerce. The abacus remained the world’s main calculator for thousands of …show more content…

Grace Hopper, referred to by some as the “Queen of Code,” was one of the first to program the first computers in the 40s and 50s. During World War II, Hopper left a teaching job at Vassar College to join the Navy Reserve. That's when she went to Harvard to work on the first programmable computer in the United States: the Mark I. The Mark I was the first digital computer to be programmed sequentially. Thus, Hopper experienced firsthand the complexities and frustration that have always been the hallmark of the programming field. The exacting code of machine language could be easily misread or incorrectly written. To reduce the number of programming errors, Hopper and her colleagues collected programs that were free of error and generated a catalogue of subroutines that could be used to develop new programs. By this time, the Mark II had been built. Aiken's team used the two computers side by side, effectively achieving an early instance of multiprocessing. Hopper's association with UNIVAC resulted in several important advances in the field of programming. Still aware of the constant problems caused by programming errors, Hopper developed an innovative program that would translate the programmer's language into machine language. This first compiler, called "A-O, " allowed the programmer to write in a higher-level symbolic language, without having to worry about the tedious binary language of endless numbers that were needed to communicate with the machine itself. Hopper died

Show More
Related

  • Dr. John Henry doc Holliday

    2866 Words  | 6 Pages

    On August 14, 1851 in Griffin, Georgia, John Henry Holliday was born to Henry Burroughs and Alice Jane Holliday. Their first child, Martha Eleanora, had died on June 12, 1850 at six months of age. When he married Alice Jane McKay on January 8, 1849, Henry Burroughs was a druggist by trade and, later became a wealthy planter, lawyer, and during the War between the States, a Confederate Major. Church records state: "John Henry, infant son of Henry B. and Alice J.

    Read More

  • Admiral Grace Murray Hopper: One Of The First Female Computer Technology

    1445 Words  | 3 Pages

    Admiral Grace Murray Hopper is known as one of the first female computer scientists and the mother of Corbel programming. Hopper was born on December 9, 1906 in New York City and was the oldest of three children. Even as a child she loved played with gadgets, disassembling items such an alarm clocks to determine how they worked (Norman). Hopper parents and siblings had a huge impact on her life. Her father who was a successful insurance broker inspired Hopper to pursue higher education and not limit her to typical feminine roles during that time (Norman). Hopper excelled in school graduating from Vassar College in 1928 with a BA in mathematic and physics (Rajaraman 2). She later went on to receive her MA in mathematics from Yale University in 1930 and her PhD in 1943 (Rajaraman 2).

    Read More

  • Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper, USN

    1291 Words  | 3 Pages

    Grace Murray Hopper, born December 9, 1906, was a Math professor that enlisted in the United States Navy at the start of World War II. Over the time of her enlistment, Hopper developed several new programming languages, including COBOL, which is still one of the most used programming languages today. Hopper was also one of the first people to coin the term “computer bug”. Over the course of her life, Grace Hopper influenced many people through her service in the military and led a movement in modern electronics through her work.

    Read More

  • The Effect of the U.S. Census on Computing Technology

    1705 Words  | 4 Pages

    The U.S. Census was initially established as a mandate by the Constitution to determine representation of each state in the House of Representatives in Congress. The first U.S. Census taken was in 1790. A tally system was used to enumerate the population until 1890. This form of manual data processing was far too slow and cumbersome to account for the United States' exploding population. After 1880 the U.S. Census was dealing with a lot more data than earlier censuses because of an influx in immigration and the expansion of the United State's borders. From 1790 to 1880 the census count went from 3.9 to 50.2 million people, respectively. The 1880 census took 9 years to complete. The tally system was inefficacious and took far too long; there were fears the next census would not be completed in less than 10 years(Shelburne). In 1888, the U.S. Census Bureau held a competition to procure a more effective and faster manner of processing census data. Three competitors submitted their designs (Census History Staff). A young engineer by the name of Herman Hollerith swept the competition. His machine, called the Hollerith Electric Tabulating System won the competition by a landslide in terms of the time it took to tabulate all the ...

    Read More

  • The Aztec Mathematics

    590 Words  | 2 Pages

    What is Aztec Mathematics you may be asking yourself well let’s start from the beginning of Aztec Mathematics.Well there were these people called Aztecs who ruled central mexico before the spanish arrived they left the most extensive mathematical writing. They ruled until the spanish came and overthrew the empire. Aztecs used hand, heart and arrow symbols as fractional distances when they would calculate lands. The Aztecs existed around 1200 A.D.

    Read More

  • The Roaring Twenties

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...m simple tasks. Then Massachusetts Institute of Technology students, led by Vannevar Bush, fabricated the first analog computer, which could perform more complicated tasks than the previous computer. The analog computer was improved upon even further by Howard Aiken, who created the first computer with memory (Brinkley 643).

    Read More

  • Abacus History

    1047 Words  | 3 Pages

    Abacus has a rich history. The traces of the great device that revolutionized the calculation method can still be seen today. Although, after the digital calculator was introduced the Abacus was fading away, countries like South Korea, Japan, and China still use it to enhance mathematic skills. These three countries are using Abacus instead of digital calculators because they have known how beneficial it is. Abacus can bring improvement in various qualities from practice of calculations to benefits in memory enhancement, an increase in problem-solving ability, and a boost in brain function.

    Read More

  • Computer Engineer

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    Computer engineering started about 5,000 years ago in China when they invented the abacus. The abacus is a manual calculator in which you move beads back and forth on rods to add or subtract. Other inventors of simple computers include Blaise Pascal who came up with the arithmetic machine for his father’s work. Also Charles Babbage produced the Analytical Engine, which combined math calculations from one problem and applied it to solve other complex problems. The Analytical Engine is similar to today’s computers.

    Read More

  • Egyptian Mathematics

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    In conclusion, it is clear that while their ancient civilization perished long ago, the contributions that the Egyptians made to mathematics have lived on. The Egyptians were practical in their approach to mathematics, and developed arithmetic and geometry in response to transactions they carried out in business and agriculture on a daily basis. Therefore, as a civilization that created hieroglyphs, the decimal system, and hieratic writing and numerals, the contributions of the Egyptians to the study of mathematics cannot and should not be overlooked.

    Read More

  • The History of Mathematics in Africa

    1439 Words  | 3 Pages

    Due to archeological evidence we know that the African people were the first people in the world to use counting to keep track of their things, or time. Around 35,000 BC, in South Africa the earliest known tally stick was made, and was left in Lebombo Cave. 29 notches were cut into the stick. We don't know exactly what they were counting. Some people think they were counting the days from one moon phase to the next, but it could have been something else. Just as well. Now, what we do see is that by 35,000 BC people in South Africa had the idea of keeping records by making marks. “The Lebombo bone is a baboon fibula with a set of 29 notches carved in it. Archeologists believe these marks are evidence of a primitive calendar, measuring either the lunar or the menstrual calendar. This artifact is incredibly important for unders...

    Read More

  • Essay On Ada Lovelace

    756 Words  | 2 Pages

    Karwatka, Dennis. "Ada Lovelace--The First Computer Programmer." Tech Directions 54.10 (1995): 21. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 May 2014.

    Read More

  • The Computer Evolution

    2687 Words  | 6 Pages

    The fist computer, known as the abacus, was made of wood and parallel wires on which beads were strung. Arithmetic operations were performed when the beads were moved along the wire according to “programming” rules that had to be memorized by the user (Soma, 14). The second earliest computer, invented by Blaise Pascal in 1694, was a “digital calculating machine.” Pascal designed this first known digital computer to help his father, who was a tax collector. Pascal’s computer could only add numbers, and they had to be entered by turning dials (Soma, 32). It required a manual process like its ancestor, the abacus. Automation was introduced in the early 1800’s by a mathematics professor named Charles Babbage. He created an automatic calculation machine that was steam powered and stored up to 1000 50-digit numbers. Unlike its two earliest ancestors, Babbage’s invention was able to perform various operations. It relied on cards with holes punched in them, which are called “punch cards.” These cards carried out the programming and storing operations for the machine. Unluckily, Babbage’s creation flopped due to the lack of mechanical precision and the lack of demand for the product (Soma, 46). The machine could not operate efficiently because technology was t adequate to make the machine operate efficiently Computer interest dwindled for many years, and it wasn’t until the mid-1800’s that people became interested in them once again.

    Read More

  • The History of Computers

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    The history of the computer dates back all the way to the prehistoric times. The first step towards the development of the computer, the abacus, was developed in Babylonia in 500 B.C. and functioned as a simple counting tool. It was not until thousands of years later that the first calculator was produced. In 1623, the first mechanical calculator was invented by Wilhelm Schikard, the “Calculating Clock,” as it was often referred to as, “performed it’s operations by wheels, which worked similar to a car’s odometer” (Evolution, 1). Still, there had not yet been anything invented that could even be characterized as a computer. Finally, in 1625 the slide rule was created becoming “the first analog computer of the modern ages” (Evolution, 1). One of the biggest breakthroughs came from by Blaise Pascal in 1642, who invented a mechanical calculator whose main function was adding and subtracting numbers. Years later, Gottfried Leibnez improved Pascal’s model by allowing it to also perform such operations as multiplying, dividing, taking the square root.

    Read More

  • The History of Math

    810 Words  | 2 Pages

    The history of math has become an important study, from ancient to modern times it has been fundamental to advances in science, engineering, and philosophy. Mathematics started with counting. In Babylonia mathematics developed from 2000B.C. A place value notation system had evolved over a lengthy time with a number base of 60. Number problems were studied from at least 1700B.C. Systems of linear equations were studied in the context of solving number problems.

    Read More

  • Pascal Programming

    1328 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pascal programming language was designed in 1968, and published in 1970. It is a small and efficient language intended to encourage good programming practices using structured programming and data structuring. Pascal was developed by Niklaus Wirth. The language was named in honor of the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal. In 1641, Pascal created the first arithmetical machine. Some say it was the first computer. Wirth improved the instrument eight years later. In 1650, Pascal left geometry and physics, and started his focus towards religious studies. A generation of students used Pascal as an introduction language in undergraduate courses. Types of Pascal have also frequently been used for everything from research projects to PC games. Niklaus Wirth reports that a first attempt to merge it in Fortran in 1969 was unsuccessful because of Fortran's lack of complex data structures. The second attempt was developed in the Pascal language itself and was operational by mid-1970. A generation of students used Pascal as an introductory language in undergraduate courses. Pascal, in its original form, is a Procedural language and includes the traditional like control structures with reserved words such as IF, THEN, ELSE, WHILE, FOR, and so on. However, Pascal has many data structuring and other ideas which were not included in the original, like type definitions, records, pointers, enumerations, and sets. The earliest computers were programmed in machine code. This type of programming is time consuming and error prone, as well as very difficult to change and understand. Programming is a time-consuming a process. More advanced languages were developed to resolve this problem. High level languages include a set of instruction...

    Read More

More about Who Is Herman Hollerith?

Open Document