Operation Match

Operation Match was the first computer dating service in the United States, begun in 1965. Users filled out a paper questionnaire which they mailed in with a $3 fee. The questionnaire was geared to young college students seeking a date, not a marriage partner. Questions included “Do you believe in a God who answers prayer?” and “Is extensive sexual activity in preparation for marriage part of ‘growing up?’”[1] The questionnaires were transferred to punched cards[2] and processed on an IBM 7090 computer at the Avco service bureau in Wilmington, Massachusetts.[3] A week or two later, the user received an IBM 1401 print out in the mail listing the names and telephone numbers of their matches.[4]

Operation Match was started by Harvard University undergraduate students Jeffrey C. Tarr, David L. Crump and Vaughan Morrill, with help from Douglas H. Ginsburg, then a student at Cornell[3] who later became Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. [5] Tarr, Crump and Ginsburg formed a company called Compatibility Research, Inc. and rolled out the service in several cities.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Nominee Left College to Be Matchmaker Philip Shenons, New York Times, October 30, 1987
  2. ↑ New dating craze sweeps the campus, boy, girl, computer, Look Magazine, February 1966
  3. 1 2 3 Operation Match, T. Jay Mathews, Harvard Crimson, November 3, 1965
  4. ↑ New dating apps cut to the chase, set up dates quickly, Tracey Lein, LA Times, January 29, 2015
  5. ↑ The Famous Founder of Operation Match, David Leonhardt, New York Times, March 28, 2006
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