1940 Census to be available also at MyHeritage on 2 April 2012

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Explore the 1940 U.S. Census on MyHeritage with Free, Easy and Automatic Discoveries

World’s largest family network pledges to make the 1940 U.S. Census available for free in 38 languages, searchable even on-the-go via mobile, with automatic matching to family trees

PROVO, Utah & LONDON & TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MyHeritage, the most popular family network on the web, today announced it will be offering the images and a searchable name index of the 1940 U.S. Federal Census completely free of charge, starting April 2 2012. Using sophisticated technology that automatically matches names, facts and relationships in the census to family tree data, MyHeritage will provide an easy and exciting way for families to explore their American heritage. Supporting 38 languages, MyHeritage will enable family history lovers not only in the US, but all over the world, to discover more about the lives of their American relatives during this transformative period in history.

“The release of the 1940 U.S. Census will undoubtedly be a significant milestone for the family history industry”

More than 3.8 million images and 132 million records of the 1940 U.S. Census will be made available on www.myheritage.com/1940census where they will be searchable by multiple criteria on MyHeritage SuperSearch™, the industry’s fastest and most powerful family history search engine to be released by MyHeritage in April 2012. MyHeritage will also provide the 1940 U.S. Census for free on the other leading family history sites it owns at www.worldvitalrecords.com/1940census and www.familylink.com/1940census. In addition, users will be able to search the 1940 U.S. Census on-the-go with a new version of the MyHeritage Mobile App for iPhone, iPad and Android, to be launched in the first week of April.

As the largest and most recent U.S. census to be made publicly available, the 1940 Census opens a window into the lives of the generation that survived the Great Depression and lived through the Second World War, described as the Greatest Generation. Family historians will be able to use the 1940 Census to learn more about their parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and other close relatives.

As an independent provider of the 1940 U.S. Federal Census, MyHeritage will be releasing its own version of the index in high transcription quality, adding value by publishing data from states not yet available elsewhere. To facilitate discoveries in the easiest and quickest way, MyHeritage will automatically match the 1940 Census records as they are being added, with the millions of family trees built by users on MyHeritage, notifying them about relevant results and eliminating the need for time-consuming and repeated manual searches. This is especially helpful given that the 1940 Census records will be added gradually, so users won’t need to revisit the census and search again as new content is added and can look forward to an ongoing stream of effortless discoveries, for free.

“The release of the 1940 U.S. Census will undoubtedly be a significant milestone for the family history industry,” said MyHeritage Founder and CEO Gilad Japhet. “With such an event occurring only once a decade, and as the largest and most comprehensive U.S. census ever to be released, the 1940 Census has deep emotional interest and revealing information in store for a great number of people. With the anticipated debut of our new and incredibly powerful SuperSearch™ engine, our new technology for matching historical records to family trees and our free offering of previously unpublished census data, MyHeritage will be taking the exploration of family history and American heritage to exciting new heights.”

The images of the 1940 U.S. Census will be released by the National Archives and Records Administration on April 2, 2012, following a 72 year privacy protection period. MyHeritage will then make all images immediately available to the public and begin the gradual process of transcribing them and making the index searchable, pledging a 98% or higher degree of accuracy.

Census information includes detailed family information, such as names, ages, addresses, occupation, race, marital status, birthplace, citizenship, home ownership and the relation of each person in the household. Several new and interesting questions appear in the 1940 U.S. Census for the first time identifying where the individual was living five years before (in 1935), information about wages and also educational attainment. Five percent of the population was asked supplementary questions including birthplace of parents, native language, usual occupation, and for women only – whether they’d been married more than once, how old they were when they were first married and the number of children they gave birth to.

With more than 62 million registered users, 22 million family trees and close to 1 billion profiles, MyHeritage has become the trusted home on the web for families wishing to explore their family history, share memories and stay connected. MyHeritage made a significant move into the historical content market in November 2011 with the acquisition of FamilyLink Inc. in Provo, Utah, obtaining billions of historical records through its website WorldVitalRecords.com. These records together with the family trees form the basis of MyHeritage SuperSearch™, on which the 1940 Census will be added.

About MyHeritage

MyHeritage is the most popular family network on the web. On MyHeritage, millions of families around the world enjoy having a private and free place to explore their history and share special family memories. Pioneers in making family history a collaborative experience for all the family, MyHeritage empowers its users with a unique mix of innovative social tools and a massive library of historical content. The site is available in 38 languages. The company is backed by Accel Partners and Index Ventures, the investors of Facebook and Skype. For more information visit www.myheritage.com. The 1940 U.S. Federal Census will be available on www.myheritage.com/1940census.