Perhaps 2010 is the largest push yet to encourage Americans to complete their census forms. Forms were mailed out last week and if not returned by the April 1, 2010, deadline, expect your doorbell to ring by a census worker to collect data.

Why is it important to be counted? The number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives is distributed proportionally among states based on population figures gathered from the census. This ensures voters are properly represented.

Collected information also determines how more than $400 billion of federal funding is spent on infrastructure and services annually. These include hospitals, schools and emergency services.

Following are fun census historical highlights:

1790

• Census Day was Aug. 2 (the first Monday of the month).
• Six questions were asked, including name of “head of family,” number of free white males by age (16 and up and under 16), and number of free white females.
• U.S. marshals, who conducted the census, submitted their results to Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, nominal director of the census.
• U.S. population: 3.9 million.

1890

• Census Day was June 2.
• For the first time, questions included how many living children mothers had, year of immigration to the U.S., citizenship status and ability to speak English.
• First census to use the Hollerith machine, an electric tabulating system that utilized encoded punch cards. This innovation substantially sped up tabulation of census results. The machine was invented by Herman Hollerith, a former census employee widely regarded as the father of modern automatic computation.
• U.S. population: 63 million.

1990

• Short form asked 13 questions and long form 45 questions.
• “S-Night,” a one-night sweep of homeless shelters and other areas where the homeless were known to congregate, was conducted.
• First time Census Bureau defined census tracts and census blocks for the entire nation.
• Tabulations released on CD-ROM for first time.
• U.S. population: 248.7 million.

2000

• Short form asked seven questions; the long form asked 52 questions.
• For the first time, respondents could check as many boxes as necessary to identify their race.
• Question on grandparents as caregivers added, while questions on children ever born, source of water, sewage disposal and condo status were dropped. Questions on disability expanded.
• Census Bureau embarks on aggressive paid advertising campaign with Young and Rubicam. This campaign contributed to the rise in the mail-back rate to 67 percent.
• Additional option for answering the census: telephone questionnaire assistance centers taking responses to the short form over the phone in six languages. This was the first census in which such centers operated.
• Internet became the principal dissemination medium for Census 2000 data.
• U.S. population: 281.4 million.

2010

• Census form is one of the shortest in history: just 10 questions that only take about 10 minutes to answer.
• Integrated communications campaign with DraftFCB and many subcontractors to boost public awareness and participation through paid advertising, a Road Tour, Census in Schools, partnership, social media, a NASCAR race car and an interactive 2010 Census Web site. Ads in 28 languages (in contrast to 17 languages in 2000) to reach all segments of the population.
• The “long form” no longer exists, having been converted to an ongoing survey throughout the decade (American Community Survey).
• Questions very basic: asking about topics such as name, age, race, Hispanic origin and homeownership.
• Households in areas with high concentrations of Spanish-speaking residents receive a bilingual (English/Spanish) form.
• Expected U.S. population: around 309 million.

For more census fun, visit 2010 Census by the Numbers Facts for Features.

Facts and Photo Source: U.S. Census Bureau