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He was also the only black person at his college. It was the first computer at the college. At the beginning of his junior year he and his chemistry professor were asked to put a computer together that was donated to the college. He wanted to quit, but this was the best chance that he would get, so he stayed. He had to stay on campus to study through summer and winter breaks. He did manage to get a scholarship to Beloit College in Wisconsin, but he wasn’t nearly as prepared as the other students. HOW IT ALL STARTEDĬomputer punch card used in 1950s Punch card reader used in the 1950sĮllis had to earn a scholarship because he didn’t have enough money to pay for college. This experience changed his life and he decided to go into the computer science field of work. One day at work the computer ran out of punch cards that weren’t used and Ellis easily fixed the computer with some changes in the settings so it would take used punch cards. During his free time at work he read the computer manual and became an expert on it. He mainly prevented break-ins and watched their new computer, but did not mess with it. He worked the graveyard shift, which means he worked all night. At the age of only 15 Ellis got a job at a company nearby to help pay bills.
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YordyĬlarence Ellis was born in Chicago in 1943. CLARENCE ELLIS COMPUTER SCIENTIST By J.C.
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