Historical eventJanuary 81889

Herman Hollerith

American statistician Herman Hollerith received a patent for his electromechanical tabulating machine for punched-card data.

Everything on January 8Original source

In context

When
Tuesday, January 8 1889137 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
19th century · 1880s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

Russia, Greece and some other countries used the Julian calendar into the early 20th century, so local records may show a date up to 13 days earlier.

At a glance

Dates: From 1889.

What happened

American statistician Herman Hollerith received a patent for his electromechanical tabulating machine for punched-card data.

January 8 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1889Herman Hollerith
  2. 2005USS San Francisco (SSN-711)
  3. 20092009 Cinchona earthquake
  4. 2010Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda
  5. 2011Jared Lee Loughner
  6. 2011Gabby Giffords
  7. 2016West Air Sweden Flight 294
  8. 2016El Chapo
  9. 2020Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752
  10. 2021La Vega raid
  11. 2023Jair Bolsonaro

Also in 1889

  • May 11Wham Paymaster robberyBandits attacked a U.S. Army paymaster's escort in the Arizona Territory, stealing more than $28,000.
  • June 26BanguiBangui, the capital and largest city of the present-day Central African Republic, was founded in French Congo.
  • November 15Pedro II of BrazilBrazilian emperor Pedro II was overthrown in a coup led by Deodoro da Fonseca (pictured), while the country was proclaimed a republic.
  • May 2Treaty of WuchaleThe Treaty of Wuchale was signed, ending the Italo-Ethiopian War, but differences in translation later led to another war.
  • August 241888–89 New Zealand Native football teamThe New Zealand Native football team, predominantly comprising Māori players, concluded their 107-game tour, the longest in rugby union h…
  • October 24Henry ParkesSir Henry Parkes, Premier of the Colony of New South Wales, gave a speech in which he called for the federation of the six Australian col…
  • June 29Hyde Park Township, IllinoisHyde Park and several other Illinois townships voted to be annexed by Chicago, forming the largest city by area in the United States and…
  • March 23Mirza Ghulam AhmadMirza Ghulam Ahmad founded the Ahmadiyya Islamic religious movement in British India.

Everything we record for 1889 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Herman Hollerith”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/herman-hollerith-1889-january-8, accessed October 25, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Herman Hollerith happen?

January 8 1889 — 137 years ago, on a Tuesday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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