![]() In 1939, when West Virginia College became an integrated school, she was hand-picked along with two other male students to be the first African American students to enroll in the university’s graduate program, studying mathematics. in mathematics, and graduated summa cum laude at the age of 18. Schieffelin Claytor, the third African American to earn a Ph.D. She later attended West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University) where she studied mathematics under the mentorship of Professor W. Her family relocated to Institute, West Virginia when the time came for her to attend high school, as White Sulfur Springs did not have an African American high school. 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.Katherine Johnson at her desk at NASA Langley Research Center in 1962. “I loved going to work every single day,” she said. Johnson retired in 1986, after 33 years at Langley. KATHERINE JOHNSON NASA HUSBAND MOVIEThe movie was called 'Hidden Figures' and grossed $236 million worldwide there were no textbooks, so we had to write them."Įventually, Hollywood made a 2017 movie based on this particular chapter in Johnson's incredible life. In looking back on the momentous occasion, Johnson said, "Everything was so new- the whole idea of going into space was new and daring. “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. Despite the availability of computer technology to assist in their flight, the astronauts were wary of putting their lives in the care of the electronic calculating machines, which were prone to hiccups and blackouts.Īs 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. 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. in 1956, her husband died of cancer and the very next year, Johnson began working with NASA engineers to create and compile the research necessary to send humans to space. 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. Authorities searching for missing Baton Rouge man last seen hiking in Arkansas national parkĪt the end of the first session, however, she decided to leave school to start a family with her first husband, James Goble.Man was allegedly driving drunk when he slammed into school bus, caused it to flip with kids on board.She left her teaching job and enrolled in the graduate math program. Davis, selected Johnson and two men to be the first black students offered spots at the state’s flagship school, West Virginia University. When West Virginia decided to quietly integrate its graduate schools in 1939, West Virginia State’s president, Dr. By 13, she was attending the high school on the campus of historically black West Virginia State College. īorn in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, in 1918, Johnson's mathematical brilliance and intense curiosity put her several grades ahead. She overcame obstacles to achieve great things and make life better for others. Here at NASA’s Langley Research Center, where Katherine worked for some 33 years, we will carry forward her legacy. NASA announced her death via social media, saying she passed away Monday morning. Acclaimed NASA mathematician Katherine G. ![]()
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