While named after the Swiss physicist and electoral reformer Eduard Hagenbach-Bischoff (1833–1910), it was originated by the D'Hondt method's inventor Victor D'Hondt (1841–1901), using the simple or Hare quota. Hagenbach-Bischoff's contribution, in addition to popularizing it, was to suggest a quota that allocates the greatest possible number of seats before the D'Hondt method is used.