Powers Accounting Machine
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Office equipment, Tabulating machines |
| Founded | 1911 in Newark, New Jersey, United States |
| Founder | James Legrand Powers |
| Fate | Acquired by Remington Rand Inc. |
| Headquarters | Brooklyn , United States |
Area served | United States, Europe |
| Products | Tabulating machines, office equipment |
| Parent | Remington Rand Inc. |
The Powers Accounting Machine was an early 1900s device designed for processing information, originally created for the U.S. Census Bureau and manufactured by the Powers Accounting Machine Company, established by its inventor. This company became a significant entity within the tabulating machine sector and served as a forerunner to Unisys.
Census Bureau
In 1890, the government utilized tabulating machines leased from Herman Hollerith's Tabulating Machine Company to enhance census data handling. When Hollerith increased leasing fees in 1900, Simon North, then director of the U.S. Census Bureau, began searching for alternative solutions. By 1903, most of Hollerith’s equipment had been returned, and Charles F. Pidgin’s tabulators were employed, though they were insufficiently fast. For the 1910 census, the Bureau allocated $40,000 to develop its own tabulating machine.
James Powers
Born in Odessa in 1871 and educated at the Technical School of Odessa, James Legrand Powers emigrated to the United States in 1889 as a mechanical engineer. He joined the Census Bureau as a technician in 1907, bringing with him prior experience and patents related to office machinery.
Although constrained by Hollerith’s patents, Powers introduced innovations by employing mechanical sensors rather than electrical ones in punch card readers. His design offered greater speed, reduced cost, higher accuracy, and compatibility with Hollerith’s punched card system. Notable advancements included enhanced feeder mechanisms and the "whole card punch," which improved efficiency compared to earlier character-by-character punch devices. Additionally, W. W. Lasker developed a machine to automate printing outputs that complemented Powers’ tabulator.
By patenting his tabulating machine design, Powers was able to establish a business around his invention. Besides office equipment, he also created various other products such as the Germproof Drinking Cup. He remained involved with professional organizations including the Machinery Club and the American Society of Mechanical Engineering until his passing in 1927 at age 57.
First usage
Prototypes of Powers’ tabulating machine were tested by allowing the Cuban government to conduct its 1908–1909 census using this equipment.[1]
Corporate
Following successful deployment during the 1910 census, James Powers founded a company in 1911 based in Newark, New Jersey to produce and market his machines commercially. In 1914, operations moved to Brooklyn, New York. Initially called Powers Tabulating Machine Company, it later adopted the name Powers Accounting Machine Company to signify a wider commercial scope.
In 1927, Remington Typewriter Company merged with Rand Kardex Corporation forming Remington Rand Inc., which acquired Powers Accounting Machine Company shortly thereafter.[2]
Expansion into Europe began in 1915 through the Accounting and Tabulating Machine Company of Great Britain Limited; this entity was renamed in 1929 as Powers-Samas Accounting Machine Limited—Samas being Powers’ French sales agency.[3][4][5]
See also
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- ↑ Powers-Samas Card Punch, ComputerHistory.org
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