What was the first significant public awareness of computers in the
United States? ( Gemini space flight; 1952 presidential election;
first Aerician satellite in 1958 or 1950 census bureau tabulations.)

Howdy lomalizzy,

Even though it was very important to the US Census Bureau that
it had an electronic computer to help tabulate the 1950 census,
it is the 1952 presidential elections that made the US public
significantly aware of computers.  The first appearance of an
electronic computer on the cover of a magazine was in 1951, but
that was in reference to the US military use of them.

The University of Virginia's reprint from: 200 Years of Census
Taking: Population and Housing Questions, 1790-1990. Washington,
DC: Bureauof the Census, 1989.
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/census/background/

"Processing. The major innovation of the 1950 census was the
use of an electronic computer, UNIVAC (for Universal Automatic
Computer) I, the first of a series, delivered in 1951 to help
tabulate some of the statistics."

The below excerpts are from the IEEE (Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers, Inc.) Computer Society website.

The first appearance of an (electronic) computer on a magazine cover.
http://www.computer.org/history/development/1951.htm

"Time magazine, in a painting by Artzybasheff, featured the
Mark III on the cover; the first time a computer appeared."

The 1952 presidential elections and the use of a UNIVAC computer.
http://www.computer.org/history/development/1952.htm

"By the end of 1952 UNIVAC had become the common name for a
computer, just as Hoover and Xerox became synonyms for vacuum
cleaners and paper copiers, fueled in part by the use of UNIVAC
in the CBS presidential election night television news program.
Using a dummy console in the studio, the returns were processed
on a machine in the Philadelphia plant of Remington-Rand. With
only 5% of the returns counted the UNIVAC predicted a landslide
victory for Eisenhower, but in spite of Charles Colinwood's
repeated requests to 'UNIVAC, tell us what you think', it was
not until after midnight on the East Coast of the US that CBS
admitted that they had nor believed the predictions and had
withheld the results of the programs run on UNIVAC. Election
nights on television would never be the same again, and UNIVAC
was established as the premier computer."

University of San Diego page titled "The Evolution of the Computer"
http://history.acusd.edu/gen/recording/computer1.html

"1952 - ... The UNIVAC I was used in November to calculate the
presidential election returns and successfully predict the winner,
although it was not trusted by the TV networks who refused to use
the prediction."

If you need any clarification, feel free to ask.


Search Strategy:

Google search on keywords: 1950 "census bureau" tabulations history
computer
://www.google.com/search?q=1950+%22census+bureau%22+tabulations+history+computer

Google search on keywords: univac magazine cover census
://www.google.com/search?q=univac+magazine+cover+census

Looking Forward, denco-ga

Provided plenty of support and answered quickly

Thanks for the 4 star rating and kind comment lomalizzy.

denco-ga

I wish that I could offer more compensation.  I was not as thorough
nor as eloquent in my rating.  It was more than I hoped for.  I had
already drawn my own conclusion and was looking for ratification.  I
will be needing additional help.  Is there any way I can ask that
you--specifically--provide it?

Liz (Lomalizzy)

Howdy Liz,

Not a problem on the rating, etc.  Glad my answer exceeded your
expectations.  It was a fun question to work on because I am a
bit of computer history (having spent over 30 years working with
computers) buff myself.

If you desire, you can request a specific Google Answer Researcher
by placing something like "for denco-ga" in the Question Subject
area after/along with your subject.

My pleasure!  denco-ga