Technical Appendix for 1993

                                 HISTORY
    
    The first death statistics published by the Federal Government
concerned events in 1850 and were based on statistics collected during
the decennial census of that year. In 1880 a national "registration
area" was created for deaths. Originally, this area consisted of
Massachusetts, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, and several
large cities that had efficient systems for death registration.
The death-registration area continued to expand until 1933, when it
included for the first time the entire United States.  Tables showing
data for death-registration States include the District of Columbia for
all years; registration cities in nonregistration States are not
included.  For more details on the history of the death-registration
area, see the Vital Statistics of the United States, 1979, Volume II,
Mortality, Part A, section 7, pages 3 and 4 and Vital Statistics of the
United States, 1950, Volume I, chapter 1, pages 2-19.  Statistics on
fetal deaths were first published for the birth-registration area in
1918 and then every year beginning with 1922.
    

































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