Director of the United States Census Bureau

From USApedia
Director of the Bureau of the Census
File:Seal of the United States Census Bureau.svg
AppointerPresident of the United States

The director of the Bureau of the Census is the chief administrator of the United States Census Bureau (USCB). The officeholder is appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate and assisted by the Deputy Director of the United States Census Bureau. The current director is Robert Santos.

History of the office

The nominal head of the early censuses was the Secretary of State, but management responsibility was actually devolved to the U.S. marshal in each state. These marshals collected and tabulated their own returns; the Secretary of State only oversaw the final compilation and tabulation of the data.[1]

By 1840, the increasing standardization of census questionnaires and the enumeration process made it clear that more leadership at the federal level was necessary. Secretary of State John Forsyth appointed William Augustus Weaver as the first "superintending clerk of the census" in that year. Weaver and his successors oversaw the technical aspects of the census, including designing questionnaires, and more closely managed the tabulation process.[1]

By 1870, the leader of the Census Office was the "superintendent of the census." The superintendent oversaw the entire census-taking process, and usually held the position from a year before the census until the final tabulations had been published.[1]

After the Census Office became a permanent agency in 1902, the first director was the incumbent superintendent, William Rush Merriam. He set the standard for many directors of the U.S. Census Bureau over the next hundred years by focusing on external issues such as congressional testimony and leaving technical operations to the experts.[1]

In 2012, the Presidential Appointment Efficiency and Streamlining Act of 2011[2] set the term for the Census Bureau director at five years; the director can serve for up to two terms. The Census director must also "have a demonstrated ability in managing large organizations and experience in the collection, analysis, and use of statistical data."

Chronology of Census Bureau leadership

The following is a chronological list of those who supervised the Census of the United States.[1]

Secretaries of State

The Secretary of State was the nominal director of the first five censuses, responsible for supervision and compilation of each U.S. marshal's tabulation. In reality, these cabinet officers did very little actual directing. The authorizing legislation for most early censuses was very specific, and the marshals oversaw the actual enumeration process.[3]

Order Image Name Census year
1 File:Thomas Jefferson 3x4.jpg Thomas Jefferson 1790
2 File:CJ Marshall copy.png John Marshall 1800
3 File:Robert Smith SecNavy (cropped).jpg Robert Smith 1810
4 File:Unsuccessful 1828.jpg John Quincy Adams 1820
5 File:Martin Van Buren by Mathew Brady c1855-58 (cropped).jpg Martin Van Buren 1830

Superintending Clerks of the Census

Beginning in 1840 and continuing for the succeeding three censuses, operations and oversight were directed by a superintending clerk of the census.[4] Also, the Census Office shut down after it finished publishing the results of each census. Because of this, there were several periods in the nineteenth century in which there was no director.[5]

Order Image Name In office
1 File:William Augustus Weaver.jpg William Augustus Weaver 1840
2 File:Joseph Camp Griffith Kennedy.jpg Joseph Camp Griffith Kennedy 1850–1853
3 File:J. D. B. De Bow engraved by William G. Jackman.jpg James Dunwoody Brownson DeBow 1853–1855
4 File:Joseph Camp Griffith Kennedy.jpg Joseph Camp Griffith Kennedy 1860–1865

Superintendents of the Census

The Census Bureau maintains biographies in their Agency History section.[6][7]

Order Image Name In office
1 File:Francis A Walker MIT 2.jpg Francis Amasa Walker 1870
2 File:Francis A Walker MIT 2.jpg Francis Amasa Walker 1879–1881
3 File:Charles W. Seaton.jpg Charles W. Seaton 1881–1885
4 File:PORTER, ROBERT. JOURNALIST. DIED IN 1917 LCCN2016867589.jpg Robert Percival Porter 1889–1893
5 File:Carroll D. Wright.jpg Carroll D. Wright 1893–1897
6 File:WilliamRMerriam.jpg William Rush Merriam 1899–1902

Directors of the Census Bureau

The Census Bureau became a permanent agency in 1902.[5]

Order Image Name In office
1 File:WilliamRMerriam.jpg William Rush Merriam 1902–1903
2 File:S.N.D. North.jpg Simon Newton Dexter North 1903–1909
3 File:E. Dana Durand, 8-19-21 LCCN2016845620 (cropped).tif Edward Dana Durand 1909–1913
4 File:William Julius Harris.jpg William J. Harris 1913–1915
5 File:ROGERS, SAMUEL L. HONORABLE LCCN2016859022 (cropped).jpg Samuel Lyle Rogers 1915–1921
6 File:STEUART, WILLIAM M. LCCN2016861432.jpg William Mott Steuart 1921–1933
7 File:William Lane Austin.jpg William Lane Austin 1933–1941
8 File:James Clyde Capt.jpg James Clyde Capt 1941–1949
9 File:Roy V. Peel.jpg Roy Victor Peel 1950–1953
10 File:Robert Wilbur Burgess.jpg Robert Wilbur Burgess 1953–1961
11 File:Richard Scammon.jpg Richard M. Scammon 1961–1965
12 File:A. Ross Eckler.jpg A. Ross Eckler 1965–1969
13 File:Portrait photo of USCB Director George Hay Brown.jpg George Hay Brown 1969–1973
14 File:Vincent Barabba Census.jpg Vincent Barabba 1973–1976
15 File:Manuel D. Plotkin.jpg Manuel D. Plotkin 1977–1979
– File:Vincent Barabba Census.jpg Vincent Barabba 1979–1981
16 File:Bruce Chapman census.jpg Bruce Chapman 1981–1983
17 File:John G Keane.jpg John G. Keane 1984–1987
18 File:Barbara Everitt Bryant.jpg Barbara Everitt Bryant 1989–1993
19 File:Martha Farnsworth Riche.jpg Martha Farnsworth Riche October 1994 – January 1998
– File:James F. Holmes census.jpg James Holmes[8] January 1998 – October 1998
20 File:Kenneth Prewitt.jpg Kenneth Prewitt 1998–2001
21 File:Charles Kincannon.png Charles Louis Kincannon March 13, 2002 – January 3, 2008
22 File:Steve Murdock.jpg Steve H. Murdock January 4, 2008 – January 9, 2009
– File:Thomas Mesenbourg photo as acting director of United States Census Bureau, circa 2012.jpg Thomas Mesenbourg January 9, 2009 – July 15, 2009
23 File:Robert Groves, official Census photo portrait.jpg Robert M. Groves July 15, 2009 – August 11, 2012
– File:Thomas Mesenbourg photo as acting director of United States Census Bureau, circa 2012.jpg Thomas Mesenbourg August 11, 2012 – August 8, 2013
24 File:John H. Thompson census.jpg John H. Thompson August 8, 2013 – June 30, 2017
– File:Ron Jarmin official photo.jpg Ron Jarmin June 30, 2017 – January 7, 2019
25 File:Steve Dillingham official photo (cropped).jpg Steven Dillingham January 7, 2019 – January 20, 2021
– File:Ron Jarmin official photo.jpg Ron Jarmin January 20, 2021 – January 5, 2022
26 File:Robert Santos, Census Director 2.jpg Robert Santos January 5, 2022 – Present

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Director Biographies - History - U.S. Census Bureau". https://www.census.gov/history/www/census_then_now/director_biographies/. 
  2. ↑ "112th Congress Public Law 166". http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-112publ166/html/PLAW-112publ166.htm. 
  3. ↑ "History:Directors 1790 - 1810". https://www.census.gov/history/www/director_biographies/010880.html. 
  4. ↑ "History:Directors 1840 - 1865". https://www.census.gov/history/www/director_biographies/010881.html. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "History:Directors 1870 - 1893". https://www.census.gov/history/www/director_biographies/010925.html. 
  6. ↑ "Directors 1865 - 1893 - History". https://www.census.gov/history/www/census_then_now/director_biographies/directors_1865_-_1893.html. 
  7. ↑ "Directors 1893 - 1909 - History". https://www.census.gov/history/www/census_then_now/director_biographies/directors_1893_-_1909.html. 
  8. ↑ James Holmes, who is African American, was named acting director on a temporary basis in 1998 after the resignation of Martha Riche. Robert Santos is confirmed as Census Bureau's first Latino director, Associated Press, Nov 5, 2021
Retrieved from ‘https://openusaproject.com/w/index.php?title=Director_of_the_United_States_Census_Bureau&oldid=23382’