Herman Hollerith

1 9.3

An American inventor who created a system using punched cards to record and process information

proper noun
/ˈhɜrmən ˈhɒlərɪθ/

: Herman Hollerith

The census of 1890 was processed using Herman Hollerith's invention.

Examples

Herman Hollerith revolutionized data processing with his punched card system.
Historians credit Herman Hollerith as a pioneer of computing technology.
Herman Hollerith was a genius.
The inventor Herman Hollerith revolutionized data processing.
Herman Hollerith revolutionized data processing with his punched card system.
Historians credit Herman Hollerith as a pioneer of computing technology.
The census of 1890 was processed using Herman Hollerith's invention.

Surface Forms

Herman Hollerith main

Morphology

Herman + Hollerith

This is a personal name (proper noun) rather than a compositional phrase; the constituents are not lexical items with transparent meanings, so knowing the parts does not convey the biographical fact about the inventor. The referential, encyclopedic meaning (who he was and his invention) requires world knowledge or prior exposure and is not derivable by a B1 learner from the name itself.

Etymology

Herman Hollerith was an American inventor who used punched cards, stiff cards with holes, and machines that 'read' the holes to count and sort information much faster than people. That's why his name is linked to early 'data processing' and the first steps toward modern computers.