Who developed a census machine in 1880 that used punch cards? A) Howard Alken B) Herman Hollerith C) Eckent and Mauchly D) IBM

Herman Hollerith developed a census machine in 1880 that utilized punch cards to automate the processing of census data. This revolutionary invention significantly reduced the time it took to tabulate results and played a crucial role in the efficiency of information management, making Hollerith a pioneer in data processing. His company eventually became part of IBM! Fast forward to today, the punch card idea might sound archaic, but it laid the groundwork for modern computing. The principles behind data encoding and processing through physical variables have evolved, but the core concept of using a sequence of holes or marks to represent information is still relevant in various data storage technologies and programming methods we use today!