Director of the United States Census Bureau

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Superintendents of the Census The Census Bureau maintains biographies in their Agency History section. Directors of the Census Bureau The Census Bureau became a permanent agency in 1902. ==References==