WASHINGTON, Oct. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
SUMMING UP
Profile America — Saturday, October 17th. One of the foundations of modern business and science — the accessibility of accurate calculations — was reinforced this month in 1887 when a patent was granted to Dorr Eugene Felt for the first adding machine known to be absolutely accurate at all times. Felt called his machine the "comptometer," and some models were still in use a half-century later. The comptometer had the mechanical calculator market to itself until 1902. Adding machines — soon joined by punch cards — remained the core of numbers management for more than 60 years until replaced by calculators and computers. Today in the U.S., sales of such items as adding machines and calculators is the pursuit of some 7,000 office supply stores. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at www.census.gov.
Sources:
Kane's Famous First Facts, 2377
The inventor: http://history-computer.com/MechanicalCalculators/19thCentury/Felt.html
The "Comptometer": http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_690457
Chronology of adding machines: http://www.officemuseum.com/calculating_machines.htm
Office supply and stationary stores/ NAICS 453210: http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=BP_2013_00A1&prodType=table
Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).
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SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
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