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How did Katherine Johnson inspire other women?
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Katherine Johnson
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- The HistoryMakers - Biography of Katherine G. Johnson
- NASA - Biography of Katherine Johnson
- Engineering and Technology History Wiki - Biography of Katherine Johnson
- Space.com - Katherine Johnson: Pioneering NASA mathematician
- The West Virginia Encyclopedia - Katherine Johnson
- Women and the American Story - Life Story: Katherine Johnson (1918–2020)
- West Virginia State University - Katherine Johnson
- Official Site of the Katherine Johnson Foundation
- Katherine Johnson - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
- Katherine Johnson - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
How was Katherine Johnson influential?
Katherine Johnson’s knowledge of mathematics was instrumental in the return of the Apollo astronauts from the Moon to Earth.
In 1939 Johnson was selected to be one of the first three African American students to enroll in a graduate program at West Virginia University. Later she was a member of a group of NASA employees called "computers," made up of African American women who excelled in mathematics and problem-solving.
What was Katherine Johnson’s maiden name?
Katherine Johnson’s maiden name was Coleman. From 1939 to 1956 she was Katherine Goble, having married James Goble. Three years after his death, she married James Johnson.
Coleman’s intelligence and skill with numbers became apparent when she was a child; by the time she was 10 years old, she had started attending high school . In 1937, at age 18, Coleman graduated with highest honours from West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University), earning bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and French . She subsequently moved to Virginia to take a teaching job. In 1939, however, she was selected to be one of the first three African American students to enroll in a graduate program at West Virginia University . She studied math there but soon left after marrying James Goble and deciding to start a family. He died in 1956, and three years later she married James Johnson.
In 1953 she began working at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)’s West Area Computing unit, a group of African American women who manually performed complex mathematical calculations for the program’s engineers. The women, known as the West Computers, analyzed test data and provided mathematical computations that were essential to the success of the early U.S. space program. During this time, NACA was segregated , and the West Computers had to use separate bathrooms and dining facilities. That changed in 1958 when NACA was incorporated into the newly formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which banned segregation.
At NASA Johnson was a member of the Space Task Group. In 1960 she coauthored a paper with one of the group’s engineers about calculations for placing a spacecraft into orbit. It was the first time a woman in her division received credit as an author of a research report. Johnson authored or coauthored 26 research reports during her career.
Johnson received numerous awards and honours for her work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2015). In 2016 NASA named a building, the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility, after her. That year Margot Lee Shetterly published Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race , about the West Computers, including Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan , and Mary Jackson . A film based on the book was also released in 2016. Johnson’s memoir, My Remarkable Journey (2021; written with Joylette Hylick and Katherine Moore), was published posthumously.
NASA Trailblazer: Katherine Johnson
Born in the segregated south of 1918, Katherine Johnson was a trailblazer from day one. Not only was she one of the first Black students to integrate West Virginia’s graduate schools, she went on to become a NASA mathematician—sending astronauts into orbit, around the Earth, and to the moon. As a Black woman in STEM, Katherine pushed boundaries, overcame adversity, and continues to inspire generations of young people to reach for the stars.
Earth Science, Astronomy, Mathematics, Physics
Transcript (English)
- I liked what I was doing. I liked work. But little did I think it would go this far.
- Katherine Johnson.
- Katherine G. Johnson.
- [Announcer] Liftoff. The clock has started.
- Mathematics was the basis of the whole thing.
- You graduated from high school at 14, college at 18. Everybody knew you had a big old brain on you by that time. But I didn't know it.
- But you didn't know it.
- Math, you're either right or you're wrong. That I liked about it.
- She always loved numbers. The professor said, "I think you'd make a good math researcher." She said, "Well, what's that?" He said, "Well, that's for you to find out." That was her dream.
- [Narrator] Katherine Johnson found her way to Hampton, Virginia, and there is NASA.
- NASA was hiring black mathematicians. Just opened it up to women. I was finally going to find out what a research mathematician did.
- Those women took a seat, and that changed our country.
- Katherine Johnson was a trailblazer. She became what was known then as a computer, or a calculator, or a human computer.
- Courage is just one of many words that describe this woman. Being the first woman in the room of all white men., in a time when that was not popular. The courage to even walk in that room with your head held high, I don't think many people could do that.
- When I think about my experiences and those of Katherine Johnson, I am completely in awe. She overcame so much more overt prejudice, so many more challenges than I was ever faced with.
- In 1957, when the Russians launched the Sputnik satellite, the space race then became her job. Calculating trajectories for Mercury missions and Project Apollo.
- Katherine Johnson was so good at what she did. They needed her as an engineer.
- When they had briefings, I asked permission to go. And they said, "Well, the girls don't usually go." And I said, "Well, is there a law?" I began attending the briefings and gradually I did more. The eagle has landed. When they were leaving the moon going back, That was the part that I worried about. They should be exactly correct on that. And I was sitting there hoping I'm right too.
- [Narrator] Without mathematicians, those great moments wouldn't have happened.
- In her 33 years at NASA, Katherine was a pioneer who broke the barriers of race and gender. Everyone can excel in math and science and reach for the stars.
- Katherine often remarked that even though there were medals and awards and so many things that she received and honors, her favorite thing to receive were letters from children.
- Katherine Johnson has taught me not to let anyone bring me down, and that women are capable of doing anything they want to do.
- Katherine Johnson has taught me to believe in myself and my capabilities.
- Katherine Johnson was an amazing African American female mathematician who changed the world.
- She made sure during and after her career to advocate for change and make sure people wouldn't face the same barriers she did.
- Now younger versions of myself don't have to wait until they're an adult to finally hear about her, to let her be a role model in their lives today.
- My problem was to answer questions, and I did that to the best of my ability at all times. And it was a joy.
Transcripción (Español)
- Me gustaba lo que hacía. Me gusta trabajar. Pero nunca pensé que llegaría tan lejos. KATHERINE JOHNSON EXMATEMÁTICA DE LA NASA
- [Locutor] Despegue. El reloj inició.
- Las matemáticas fueron la base de todo.
- Finalizaste la prepa a los 14 y la universidad a los 18. Todos sabían que tenías un gran cerebro para esa época. Pero yo no lo sabía.
- Pero tú no lo sabías.
- En matemáticas tienes razón o no. Me gustaba eso de ello.
- Siempre amó los números. El profesor dijo: "Creo que serías una buena investigadora en matemáticas". Ella dijo: "¿Y eso qué es?". Él dijo: "Debes descubrirlo". Ese era su sueño.
- [Narradora] Katherine Johnson halló su camino hasta Hampton, Virginia, y allí está la NASA.
- La NASA estaba contratando matemáticos negros. Acababa de abrirse a las mujeres. Por fin descubriría qué hacía un matemático de investigación.
- Esas mujeres se sentaron, y eso cambió a nuestro país.
- Katherine Johnson fue una pionera. Se convirtió en lo que se conocía como una computadora, una calculadora o una computadora humana.
- "Coraje" es solo una de muchas palabras que describen a esta mujer. Fue la primera mujer en una sala llena de hombres blancos, en una época en la que eso no era popular. ACTRIZ QUE INTERPRETÓ A KATHERINE JOHNSON El coraje para entrar en esa sala con la cabeza en alto no creo que muchos lo hubiera tenido. COMEDOR DE LA NASA DE KATHERINE
- Cuando pienso en mis experiencia, y las de Katherine Johnson, estoy completamente asombrada. Ella superó mucho más prejuicio evidente, muchos más desafíos de los que yo jamás enfrenté.
- En 1957, cuando los rusos lanzaron el satélite Sputnik, la carrera espacial se convirtió en su trabajo. Calculaba trayectorias para las misiones Mercury y el proyecto Apolo.
- Katherine Johnson era buenísima en lo que hacía. La necesitaban como ingeniera.
- Cuando se reunían, pedía permiso para ir. Y me decían: "Las chicas no suelen ir". Y yo decía: "¿Acaso hay una ley?". Comencé a asistir a las reuniones y, gradualmente, hice más. El águila ha aterrizado. Cuando dejaban la luna para regresar, esa era la parte que me preocupaba. Deberían estar exactamente correctos en eso. Y yo estaba sentada allí esperando tener razón también.
- [Narradora] Sin matemáticos, esos grandes momentos no habrían sucedido.
- En sus 33 años en la NASA, Katherine fue una pionera que rompió las barreras de raza y género. Todos pueden sobresalir en matemáticas y ciencias y alcanzar las estrellas.
- Katherine solía comentar que, aunque recibió medallas, premios, honores y muchas otras cosas, lo que más le gustaba recibir eran cartas de niños. 27 DE ABRIL DE 1983 QUERIDA SRA. JOHNSON,
- Katherine Johnson me enseñó a no dejar que nadie me derribe, y que las mujeres pueden hacer cualquier cosa que quieran.
- Katherine Johnson me enseñó a creer en mí misma y en mis capacidades.
- Katherine Johnson fue una increíble matemática afroamericana que cambió el mundo.
- Se aseguró, durante y después de su carrera, de abogar por el cambio y asegurarse de que las personas no enfrentaran las mismas barreras que ella enfrentó.
- Ahora, las versiones más jóvenes de mí misma no tienen que esperar hasta ser adultas para finalmente escuchar sobre ella, para dejar que sea un modelo a seguir en sus vidas hoy.
- Mi problema era responder preguntas, y lo hice lo mejor que pude en todo momento. Y fue un placer. LA NASA LE DEDICÓ A KATHERINE SU INSTALACIÓN DE INVESTIGACIÓN COMPUTACIONAL. ESTÁ EN HAMPTON, VIRGINIA, HOGAR DE ALGUNAS DE LAS COMPUTADORAS MÁS POTENTES. COMO SIEMPRE.
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Katherine G. Johnson
Maker interview details.
Sponsored by
National science foundation.
- February 6, 2012
- Category: ScienceMakers
- Occupation(s): Computer Scientist
- Born: August 26, 1918
- Birth Location: White Sulphur, West Virginia
- Favorite Time of Year: Fall
- Favorite Vacation Spot: Hawaii
Favorite Quote
"For Pete's sake."
Mathematician and computer scientist Katherine Johnson was born on August 26, 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia to Joylette and Joshua Coleman. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a farmer and janitor. From a young age, Johnson enjoyed mathematics and could easily solve mathematical equations. Her father moved Johnson’s family to Institute, West Virginia, which was 125 miles away from the family home so that Johnson and her siblings could attend school. She attended West Virginia State High School and graduated from high school at age fourteen. Johnson received her B.S. degree in French and mathematics in 1932 from West Virginia State University (formerly West Virginia State College). At that time, Dr. W.W. Schiefflin Claytor, the third African American to earn a Ph.D. degree in mathematics, created a special course in analytic geometry specifically for Johnson. In 1940, she attended West Virginia University to obtain a graduate degree. Johnson was one of the first African Americans to enroll in the mathematics program. However, family issues kept her from completing the required courses. After college, Johnson began teaching in elementary and high schools in Virginia and West Virginia. In 1953, she joined Langley Research Center (LaRC) as a research mathematician for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Johnson was assigned to the all-male flight research division. Her knowledge made her invaluable to her superiors and her assertiveness won her a spot in previously all-male meetings. NACA became the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958. Upon leaving The Flight Mechanics Branch, Johnson went on to join the Spacecraft Controls Branch where she calculated the flight trajectory for Alan Shepard, the first American to go into space in 1959. Johnson also verified the mathematics behind John Glenn’s orbit around the Earth in 1962 and calculated the flight trajectory for Apollo 11’s flight to the moon in 1969. She retired from NASA in 1986. Johnson has been the recipient of NASA’s Lunar Spacecraft and Operation’s Group Achievement Award and NASA’s Apollo Group Achievement Award. She received the NASA Langely Research Center Special Achievement Award in 1971, 1980, 1984, 1985 and 1986. Johnson has co-authored twenty-six scientific papers and has a historically unique listing as a female co-author in a peer-reviewed NASA report. She also received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from the State University of New York in Farmingdale in 1998 and in 1999, was named Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by West Virginia State College. In 2006, Johnson was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science from Capitol College of Laurel, Maryland. Johnson lives with her husband Lt. Colonel James A. Johnson in Hampton, Virginia and has three daughters Constance, Joylette and Kathy. Johnson passed away on February 24, 2020. Katherine Johnson was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on February 6, 2012.
- A2012_017_EAD.pdf
- A2012_017_EAC.pdf
Katherine Johnson
One of NASA's human 'computers,' Katherine Johnson performed the complex calculations that enabled humans to successfully achieve space flight. Her story is depicted in the 2016 movie 'Hidden Figures.'
(1918-2020)
Who Was Katherine Johnson?
Katherine Johnson made the most of limited educational opportunities for African Americans, graduating from college at age 18. She began working in aeronautics as a "computer" in 1952, and after the formation of NASA , she performed the calculations that sent astronauts into orbit in the early 1960s and to the moon in 1969. Johnson was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and saw her story brought to light through a book and a feature film the following year. She passed away on February 24, 2020, at the age of 101.
Early Years and Education
Johnson was born Katherine Coleman on August 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. A bright child with a gift for numbers, she breezed through her classes and completed the eighth grade by age 10. Although her town didn’t offer classes for African Americans after that point, her father, Joshua, drove the family 120 miles to Institute, West Virginia, where they lived while she attended high school.
Johnson enrolled at West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University) in Institute, West Virginia, where she encountered a hands-on faculty. One particularly engaged professor was Dr. William W. Schieffelin Claytor, the third African American to earn a Ph.D. in mathematics, who was determined to prepare Johnson to become a research mathematician. At age 18, she graduated summa cum laude with degrees in mathematics and French.
The following year, Johnson became one of three students to desegregate West Virginia University's graduate school in Morgantown. However, she found the environment less welcoming than it had been in Institute, and never completed her program there.
The 'Computer'
Beginning in the late 1930s, Johnson taught math and French at schools in Virginia and West Virginia.
In 1952, Johnson learned that the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was hiring African American women to serve as "computers;" namely, people who performed and checked calculations for technological developments. Johnson applied, and the following year she was accepted for a position at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
Johnson not only proved adept at her calculations, she displayed a curiosity and assertiveness that caught her superiors by surprise. "The women did what they were told to do,” she recalled. “They didn’t ask questions or take the task any further. I asked questions; I wanted to know why."
After only two weeks, Johnson was transferred from the African American computing pool to Langley's flight research division, where she talked her way into meetings and earned additional responsibilities. She achieved success despite difficulties at home: In 1956, her husband died of a brain tumor.
NASA Pioneer
In 1958, after NACA was reformulated into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Johnson was among the people charged with determining how to get a human into space and back. The following year she remarried, to decorated Navy and Army officer James A. Johnson.
For Johnson, calculating space flight came down to the basics of geometry: "The early trajectory was a parabola, and it was easy to predict where it would be at any point," she said. "Early on, when they said they wanted the capsule to come down at a certain place, they were trying to compute when it should start. I said, 'Let me do it. You tell me when you want it and where you want it to land, and I'll do it backwards and tell you when to take off .' " As a result, the task of plotting the path for Alan Shepard 's 1961 journey to space, the first in American history, fell on her shoulders.
The next challenge was to send a man in orbit around Earth. This involved far more difficult calculations, to account for the gravitational pulls of celestial bodies, and by then NASA had begun using electronic computers. Yet, the job wasn't considered complete until Johnson was summoned to check the work of the machines, providing the go-ahead to propel John Glenn into successful orbit in 1962.
While the work of electronic computers took on increased importance at NASA, Johnson remained highly valuable for her unwavering accuracy. She performed calculations for the historic 1969 Apollo 11 trip to the moon, and the following year, when Apollo 13 experienced a malfunction in space, her contributions to contingency procedures helped ensure its safe return.
Johnson continued to serve as a key asset for NASA, helping to develop its Space Shuttle program and Earth Resources Satellite, until her retirement in 1986.
'Hidden Figures'
Margot Lee Shetterly's 2016 book Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race celebrated the little-known story of Johnson and her fellow African American computers. It was also turned into an Oscar-nominated feature film, Hidden Figures (2016), starring actress Taraji P. Henson as Johnson.
Awards and Legacy
Johnson was honored with an array of awards for her groundbreaking work. Among them are the 1967 NASA Lunar Orbiter Spacecraft and Operations team award, and the National Technical Association’s designation as its 1997 Mathematician of the Year. Additionally, she earned honorary degrees from SUNY Farmingdale, Maryland's Capitol College, Virginia's Old Dominion University and West Virginia University.
In November 2015, President Barack Obama presented Johnson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Margot Lee Shetterly's 2016 book Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race celebrated the little-known story of Johnson and her fellow African American computers. It was also turned into an Oscar-nominated feature film, Hidden Figures (2016), starring actress Taraji P. Henson as Johnson.
A year later, in September 2017, 99-year-old Johnson was honored by NASA, with the dedication of a new research building which is named after her — the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility. Johnson, her family and friends were at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new building which is part of NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
“We’re here to honor the legacy of one of the most admired and inspirational people ever associated with NASA,” Langley Director David Bowles said in a press release . “I can’t imagine a better tribute to Mrs. Johnson’s character and accomplishments than this building that will bear her name.”
Johnson's humble response to a building named after her was said with a laugh: “You want my honest answer? I think they’re crazy.”
Her trailblazing contributions were celebrated at the dedication ceremony where Margot Lee Shetterly, the author of Hidden Figures and keynote speaker, said of the " human computers ": “We are living in a present that they willed into existence with their pencils, their slide rules, their mechanical calculating machines — and, of course, their brilliant minds."
She said to Johnson: "Your work changed our history and your history has changed our future."
When asked to give her advice to NASA employees who will follow in her footsteps and work in the new building named after her, Johnson simply said: “Like what you do and then you will do your best.”
Spouse and Children
In 1939, Johnson married James Francis Goble, with whom she had three daughters: Joylette, Katherine and Constance.
Johnson passed away on February 24, 2020. She was 101 years old.
QUICK FACTS
- Name: Katherine Johnson
- Birth Year: 1918
- Birth date: August 26, 1918
- Birth State: West Virginia
- Birth City: White Sulfur Springs
- Birth Country: United States
- Gender: Female
- Best Known For: One of NASA's human 'computers,' Katherine Johnson performed the complex calculations that enabled humans to successfully achieve space flight. Her story is depicted in the 2016 movie 'Hidden Figures.'
- Space Exploration
- Astrological Sign: Virgo
- West Virginia University
- West Virginia State College
- Death Year: 2020
- Death date: February 24, 2020
We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !
CITATION INFORMATION
- Article Title: Katherine Johnson Biography
- Author: Biography.com Editors
- Website Name: The Biography.com website
- Url: https://www.biography.com/scientists/katherine-g-johnson
- Access Date:
- Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
- Last Updated: January 11, 2021
- Original Published Date: October 10, 2016
- I counted everything. I counted the steps to the road, the steps up to church, the number of dishes and silverware I washed ... anything that could be counted, I did.
- The women did what they were told to do. They didn’t ask questions or take the task any further. I asked questions; I wanted to know why. They got used to me asking questions and being the only woman there.
- Everything is physics and math.
- You are no better than anyone else, and no one is better than you.
- Girls are capable of doing everything men are capable of doing. Sometimes they have more imagination than men.
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Katherine johnson biography, margot lee shetterly, author of hidden figures.
Born: Aug. 26, 1918 Died : Feb. 24, 2020 Hometown : White Sulphur Springs, WV Education: B.S., Mathematics and French, West Virginia State College, 1937 Hired by NACA: June 1953 Retired from NASA: 1986 Actress Playing Role in Hidden Figures: Taraji P. Henson
Biography by Margot Lee Shetterly
Being handpicked to be one of three black students to integrate West Virginia’s graduate schools is something that many people would consider one of their life’s most notable moments, but it’s just one of several breakthroughs that have marked Katherine Johnson’s long and remarkable life. Born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, in 1918, her intense curiosity and brilliance with numbers vaulted her ahead several grades in school. By 13, she was attending the high school on the campus of historically black West Virginia State College. At 18, she enrolled in the college itself, where she made quick work of the school’s math curriculum and found a mentor in math professor W. W. Schieffelin Claytor, the third African American to earn a PhD in mathematics. She graduated with highest honors in 1937 and took a job teaching at a black public school in Virginia.
When West Virginia decided to quietly integrate its graduate schools in 1939, West Virginia State’s president, Dr. John W. Davis, selected her and two men to be the first black students offered spots at the state’s flagship school, West Virginia University. She left her teaching job and enrolled in the graduate math program. At the end of the first session, however, she decided to leave school to start a family with her first husband, James Goble. She returned to teaching when her three daughters got older, but it wasn’t until 1952 that a relative told her about open positions at the all-black West Area Computing section at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics’ (NACA’s) Langley laboratory, headed by fellow West Virginian Dorothy Vaughan. Katherine and her husband decided to move the family to Newport News, Virginia, to pursue the opportunity, and Katherine began work at Langley in the summer of 1953. Just two weeks into her tenure in the office, Dorothy Vaughan assigned her to a project in the Maneuver Loads Branch of the Flight Research Division, and Katherine’s temporary position soon became permanent. She spent the next four years analyzing data from flight tests and worked on the investigation of a plane crash caused by wake turbulence. As she was wrapping up this work her husband died of cancer in December 1956.
The 1957 launch of the Soviet satellite Sputnik changed history—and Johnson’s life. In 1957, she provided some of the math for the 1958 document Notes on Space Technology , a compendium of a series of 1958 lectures given by engineers in the Flight Research Division and the Pilotless Aircraft Research Division (PARD). Engineers from those groups formed the core of the Space Task Group, the NACA’s first official foray into space travel. Johnson, who had worked with many of them since coming to Langley, “came along with the program” as the NACA became NASA later that year. She did trajectory analysis for Alan Shepard’s May 1961 mission Freedom 7 , America’s first human spaceflight. In 1960, she and engineer Ted Skopinski coauthored Determination of Azimuth Angle at Burnout for Placing a Satellite Over a Selected Earth Position , a report laying out the equations describing an orbital spaceflight in which the landing position of the spacecraft is specified. It was the first time a woman in the Flight Research Division had received credit as an author of a research report.
In 1962, as NASA prepared for the orbital mission of John Glenn , Johnson was called upon to do the work that she would become most known for. The complexity of the orbital flight had required the construction of a worldwide communications network, linking tracking stations around the world to IBM computers in Washington, Cape Canaveral in Florida, and Bermuda. The computers had been programmed with the orbital equations that would control the trajectory of the capsule in Glenn’s Friendship 7 mission from liftoff to splashdown, but the astronauts were wary of putting their lives in the care of the electronic calculating machines, which were prone to hiccups and blackouts. As a part of the preflight checklist, Glenn asked engineers to “get the girl”—Johnson—to run the same numbers through the same equations that had been programmed into the computer, but by hand, on her desktop mechanical calculating machine. “If she says they’re good,’” Katherine Johnson remembers the astronaut saying, “then I’m ready to go.” Glenn’s flight was a success, and marked a turning point in the competition between the United States and the Soviet Union in space.
When asked to name her greatest contribution to space exploration, Johnson would talk about the calculations that helped synch Project Apollo’s Lunar Module with the lunar-orbiting Command and Service Module. She also worked on the Space Shuttle and the Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS, later renamed Landsat) and authored or coauthored 26 research reports. She retired in 1986, after 33 years at Langley. “I loved going to work every single day,” she said. In 2015, at age 97, Johnson added another extraordinary achievement to her long list: President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.
She died on Feb. 24, 2020. NASA Administrator James Bridenstine said, “Our NASA family is sad to learn the news that Katherine Johnson passed away this morning at 101 years old. She was an American hero and her pioneering legacy will never be forgotten.”
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Katherine Johnson, the girl who loved to count
“They asked Katherine Johnson for the moon, and she gave it to them. Wielding little more than a pencil, a slide rule and one of the finest mathematical minds in the country…” These are the first lines of Katherine Johnson’s obituary in The New York Times on February 24th, 2020. She was 101 years old.
Celebrate this pioneering mathematician, NASA’s best-known human computer , a formerly ‘hidden figure’ who has been portrayed in books and an award-winning movie, as well as a recipient of the nation’s highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom , with this 2015 NASA tribute: Katherine Johnson: The Girl Who Loved to Count .
“In math, you’re either right or you’re wrong,” she said. Her succinct words belie a deep curiosity about the world and dedication to her discipline, despite the prejudices of her time against both women and African-Americans. It was her duty to calculate orbital trajectories and flight times relative to the position of the moon—you know, simple things. In this day and age, when we increasingly rely on technology, it’s hard to believe that John Glenn himself tasked Katherine to double-check the results of the computer calculations before his historic orbital flight, the first by an American. The numbers of the human computer and the machine matched. With a slide rule and a pencil, Katherine advanced the cause of human rights and the frontier of human achievement at the same time. Having graduated from high school at 14 and college at 18 at a time when African-Americans often did not go beyond the eighth grade, she used her amazing facility with geometry to calculate Alan Shepard’s flight path and took the Apollo 11 crew to the moon to orbit it, land on it, and return safely to Earth.
Next, watch the this Liberty Science Center Genius Gala 6.0 video. The first five minutes provides a summary of Johnson’s work, in which Johnson explains, “You need to learn how to learn.” The video concludes with the 2017 Genius Award ceremony. The award was accepted for Johnson by her daughter Joylette Goble Hylick, a retired engineer.
Watch more videos about women at NASA , including • France A. Córdova – Nautilus’ Spark of Science • Dr. Mae Jemison, NASA Astronaut: I Wanted To Go Into Space • The Trailblazing Women of NASA • The Courage To Invent: NASA Roboticist Dr. Ayanna Howard Tells Her Story
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Katherine Johnson
Introduction.
Katherine Johnson was an American mathematician . She made important contributions to the United States space program during her career at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Her work helped send astronauts to the Moon.
Katherine Coleman was born on August 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Her intelligence and skill with numbers became obvious when she was a child. She was in high school by the time she was 10 years old. Katherine graduated from West Virginia State College in 1937 with highest honors and then took a teaching job in Virginia.
In 1939 Katherine was selected to be one of the first three African American students to enroll in a graduate program at West Virginia University. She studied math but soon left to take care of her family. She had married James Goble that year. He died in 1956. (She later married James Johnson.)
The West Computers were segregated from white workers. They were forced to use separate bathrooms and dining facilities. That changed when NACA became NASA in 1958.
At NASA Johnson was a member of the Space Task Group. She calculated the flight path for the spacecraft that put the first U.S astronaut in space in 1961. The year before she had coauthored a paper with an engineer. It was the first time a woman in her division received credit as an author of a research report. She authored or coauthored 26 research reports during her career.
In 1962 John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. However, before he left the ground, he wanted to make sure the electronic computer had planned the flight correctly. He asked to have Johnson double check the computer’s calculations. Johnson was also part of the team that calculated where and when the rocket would be launched that would send the first three men to the Moon. Johnson also worked on the space shuttle program. She retired from NASA in 1986. Johnson died on February 24, 2020.
Honors and Awards
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Katherine Johnson
How this math whiz helped explorers reach new worlds
The stars were always within reach for Katherine Johnson. Using her mathematics skills, she helped NASA send astronauts to the moon and return them safely home. She also overcame racial and gender hurdles that helped make giant leaps for humankind.
Johnson was born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia , on August 26, 1918. Math came easy to her, but she worked hard to master geometry and algebra. She started high school when she was just 10 years old (most kids are in fourth or fifth grade when they’re 10!) and college when she was 15. After she graduated with honors at 18, Johnson taught Black students math. She later enrolled in graduate school at West Virginia University to study math but left early to raise a family and return to teaching.
In 1952, when she was 34 years old, she learned about jobs for Black women with mathematics and computing skills at the Langley laboratory at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, which would later become NASA. She and the other women worked as “human computers,” figuring out the difficult calculations needed for spaceflight. During her time there, she broke racial barriers, like using the bathroom that was supposed to be for white women only.
One of her biggest accomplishments at NASA was helping calculate the trajectory, or path, of the country’s first human spaceflight in 1961, making sure astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., had a safe trip. A year later she helped figure out John Glenn’s orbit of the planet, another American first. In 1969, she calculated the trajectories of Neil Armstrong’s historic mission to the moon on Apollo 11.
Yet unlike the white male astronauts she helped launch into space, no one knew of the groundbreaking work Johnson and dozens of other Black women did for NASA and space exploration. It wasn’t until the 2016 release of the movie Hidden Figures that these women received widespread recognition.
Johnson died on February 24, 2020, at the age of 101. In her honor, NASA had dedicated the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility at the Langley Research Center to commemorate the hard work she did to help take them to the stars.
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African american pioneers of science, black history month, 1963 march on washington.
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Born in 1918, Katherine Johnson was one of the first Black students to integrate West Virginia's graduate schools before becoming a NASA mathematician, where...
#BlackHistory #BlackHistoryMonth #FresbergCartoonThe life of Katherine Johnson is one for the history books. Join us as we share fun facts from the biography...
Explore the life of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, who, as part of the team of "human computers" that enabled astronauts Alan Shepard, John Glenn, and...
Creola Katherine Johnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 - February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. [1] [2] During her 33-year career at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped ...
Katherine Johnson (born August 26, 1918, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, U.S.—died February 24, 2020, Newport News, Virginia) was an American mathematician who calculated and analyzed the flight paths of many spacecraft during her more than three decades with the U.S. space program. Her work helped send astronauts to the Moon.
NASA Trailblazer: Katherine Johnson. Born in the segregated south of 1918, Katherine Johnson was a trailblazer from day one. Not only was she one of the first Black students to integrate West Virginia's graduate schools, she went on to become a NASA mathematician—sending astronauts into orbit, around the Earth, and to the moon. As a Black ...
4 min read. Who Was Katherine Johnson? (Grades K-4) This article is for students grades K-4. Katherine Johnson loved math. Early in her career, she was called a "computer.". She helped NASA put an astronaut into orbit around Earth. And then she helped put a man on the Moon.
Katherine G. Johnson. Biography. Mathematician and computer scientist Katherine Johnson was born on August 26, 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia to Joylette and Joshua Coleman. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a farmer and janitor. From a young age, Johnson enjoyed mathematics and could easily solve mathematical equations.
She was known as the "human computer," was responsible for calculating the trajectory of Apollo 11 to space, and was an inspiration behind the film "Hidden F...
One of NASA's human 'computers,' Katherine Johnson performed the complex calculations that enabled humans to successfully achieve space flight. Her story is depicted in the 2016 movie 'Hidden ...
Biography by Margot Lee Shetterly. Being handpicked to be one of three black students to integrate West Virginia's graduate schools is something that many people would consider one of their life's most notable moments, but it's just one of several breakthroughs that have marked Katherine Johnson's long and remarkable life.
Wielding little more than a pencil, a slide rule and one of the finest mathematical minds in the country…". These are the first lines of Katherine Johnson's obituary in The New York Times on February 24th, 2020. She was 101 years old. Celebrate this pioneering mathematician, NASA's best-known human computer, a formerly 'hidden figure ...
Early Life. Katherine Coleman was born on August 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Her intelligence and skill with numbers became obvious when she was a child. She was in high school by the time she was 10 years old. Katherine graduated from West Virginia State College in 1937 with highest honors and then took a teaching job in ...
Pioneering NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson has died at the age of 101. Johnson was part of a group of African-American women who worked on critical math...
Katherine Johnson. The stars were always within reach for Katherine Johnson. Using her mathematics skills, she helped NASA send astronauts to the moon and return them safely home. She also overcame racial and gender hurdles that helped make giant leaps for humankind. Johnson was born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, on August 26, 1918.
Katherine Johnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 - February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. During her 33-year career at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of ...
Katherine Johnson. Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson (August 26, 1918 - February 24, 2020) was an African American physicist and mathematician. She finished schooling at a very early age. Katherine Johnson was 1 of the first 3 black people allowed to study at West Virginia University, because which before that was officially racist and did not ...
Women & the American Story (WAMS), Episode 33At a time when American space exploration was dominated by men, mathematician Katherine Johnson broke through ge...
Katherine Johnson's life story and contributions to science; How maths was used to safely send rockets to space and back; Licence. This content is made available by Oak National Academy Limited and its partners and licensed under Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 1), except where otherwise stated. Video.
In the premiere episode of Black Pioneers we take a look at the life of Katherine Johnson. Katherine Johnson was an intregal part of NASA's early days. Narra...