Question

The census bureau sought an inventor to aid in computation for the 1890 census, offering a cash prize. Who won this prize for developing a system using Jacquard's punched cards to compute census data?

a) Herman Hollerith
b) Thomas Edison
c) Alexander Graham Bell
d) Nikola Tesla

Answer 1

Herman Hollerith developed a system using Jacquard's punched cards for the 1890 census, leading to faster data processing and the founding of IBM.

Step-by-step explanation:

The inventor who won the prize for developing a system using Jacquard's punched cards to compute census data for the 1890 census was Herman Hollerith. His invention significantly speeded up the processing of census data, and he subsequently founded the company that would become IBM. It's interesting to note that Thomas Edison, known for his record number of patents and inventions like the lightbulb, automatic vote counter, and phonograph, was not involved in this particular innovation for census data computation.