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Robert Percival Porter (June 30, 1852 – February 28, 1917) was an American journalist, diplomat, and statistician who wrote on economic subjects. He served as Superintendent of the Census (1889–1893). In the statistical field, the first use of the term "computer" comes in an article in the ''Journal of the American Statistical Association'' archives by Porter in 1891. The article discusses about the use of 
On March 7, 1884, he married Alice Hobbins.
He had four children, including Mary "Polly" Winearls Porter.
Robert Percival Porter died February 28, 1917.
Robert Percival Porter
at gracesguide.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Robert Percival 1852 births 1917 deaths 19th-century British journalists 19th-century American journalists 19th-century British newspaper founders 19th-century American newspaper founders 19th-century American economists 19th-century American male writers 20th-century British journalists 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American economists 20th-century American male writers People from Norwich English journalists English newspaper editors American statisticians American economics writers United States Census Bureau people American male journalists
Hermann Hollerith
Herman Hollerith (February 29, 1860 – November 17, 1929) was a German-American statistician, inventor, and businessman who developed an electromechanical tabulating machine for punched cards to assist in summarizing information and, later, in ...
's machine in the 11th Census of the United States.
Early life and education
Robert Percival Porter was born inNorwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
, England, June 30, 1852. His father was James Winearls Porter of Marham, Norfolk.
He received his education at King Edward VI School, Norwich, and privately in the U.S.
Career
He removed to the United States on the death of his father in 1869, and begran active life as a school teacher inIllinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
. When the ''Chicago Inter Ocean
The ''Chicago Inter Ocean'', also known as the ''Chicago Inter-Ocean'', is the name used for most of its history for a newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, from 1865 until 1914. Its editors included Charles A. Dana and Byron Andrews.
Histo ...
'' was founded, in 1872, he joined the staff of that paper, though his first statistical and economic writings were contributed to the ''Galaxy'', 1876, and ''The Princeton Review
The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981. and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...
'', 1878–79.
From 1879 to 1882, he had charge of the second division of the United States census under Gen. Francis A. Walker, and wrote the official reports on wealth, debt, taxation, and transportation. In 1882, he was appointed a member of the U.S. Tariff Commission, and in this capacity he took an active part in framing the tariff law of 1883.
He then joined the editorial staff of the ''New-York Tribune
The ''New-York Tribune'' was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s through the 1860s it was the domi ...
'' and was sent to Europe to study and report industrial and housing conditions on the Continent. He contributed regular letters on European industries for fifteen months.
Upon returning to the United States in 1885, he became one of the editors of ''The Philadelphia Press
''The Philadelphia Press'' (or ''The Press'') is a defunct newspaper that was published from August 1, 1857, to October 1, 1920.
The paper was founded by John Weiss Forney. Charles Emory Smith was editor and owned a stake in the paper from 1880 un ...
''. On December 1, 1887, Porter founded the ''New York Press
''New York Press'' was a free alternative weekly in New York City, which was published from 1988 to 2011.
The ''Press'' strove to create a rivalry with the ''Village Voice''. ''Press'' editors claimed to have tried to hire away writer Nat Hento ...
'', assisted by Frank Hatton. In March, 1889, he was appointed superintendent of the 11th census, resigning in September 1893, to return to the editorial control of the ''New York Press''.
In 1895–96, Porter reported on the industries and commerce of Japan for the Manufacturers' Association of America. He took an active part in the campaigns of President
President most commonly refers to:
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Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
William McKinley
William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
, and in 1898, the latter appointed him a special commissioner to Cuba and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
. He framed the tariff laws for these islands and the Philippines, and conducted the negotiations with Gen. Gomez that ended in the disbandment of the Cuban army. From 1900, he conducted a series of economic studies relating to street and other railways in Europe.
In 1904, he joined the staff of the ''London Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (f ...
''.
He was a member of American and English Statistical Associations, and of the Republican, Ardsley, and Lawyers' Clubs of New York.
Personal life
On March 7, 1884, he married Alice Hobbins.
He had four children, including Mary "Polly" Winearls Porter.
Robert Percival Porter died February 28, 1917.
Selected works
* ''The West : from the census of 1880, a history of the industrial, commercial, social, and political development of the states and territories of the West from 1800 to 1880'', 1882 * ''Protection and free trade to-day : at home and abroad, in field and workshop'', 1884 * ''Free trade folly'', 1886 * ''Industrial Cuba : being a study of present commercial and industrial conditions, with suggestions as to the opportunities presented in the Island for American capital, enterprise, and labour'', 1899 * ''Life of William McKinley, soldier, lawyer, statesman'', 1896 * ''The dangers of municipal trading'', 1907 * ''The full recognition of Japan, being a detailed account of the economic progress of the Japanese empire to 1911'', 1911 * ''Japan, the new world-power : being a detailed account of the progress and rise of the Japanese empire'', 1915 * ''Japan, the rise of a modern power'', 1917References
External links
*Robert Percival Porter
at gracesguide.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Robert Percival 1852 births 1917 deaths 19th-century British journalists 19th-century American journalists 19th-century British newspaper founders 19th-century American newspaper founders 19th-century American economists 19th-century American male writers 20th-century British journalists 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American economists 20th-century American male writers People from Norwich English journalists English newspaper editors American statisticians American economics writers United States Census Bureau people American male journalists