Katherine Johnson
By
John C Abercrombie
Katherine Johnson was one of the leading mathematicians of our time, working for The National Aeronautics and space Administration (NASA).
Born August 26, 1918, to Joylette and Joshua Coleman in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia during the Jim Crow era. Her birth name was Creola Katherine Coleman. Her mother was a teacher and her father worked various jobs including lumberman, farmer, handyman and later took a job at the Greenbrier Hotel so their children could obtain an education in the school nearby.
The Colemans were strong believers in education for the kids. Katherine showed strong mathematical abilities, however, Greenbrier County did not offer public schools to Blacks beyond the 8th grade. This was not unusual, and a problem faced by many Blacks during this time period. Limited educational opportunities had a negative effect in the Black community.
Katherine showed an aptitude for Mathematics at an early age. The Colemans enrolled their children at a high school in Institute, West Virginia. The school was on the campus of West Virginia State College. An HBCU (Historically Black College or University). The family split their time between Institute during the school year, returning to White Sulphur Springs to farm during the summer.
An excellent student, Katherine graduated from high school at the age of 14. She enrolled at West Virginia State College. Although majoring in French, she took, she took every math course offered by the college.
Katherine was fortunate to have instructors such as Angie Turner King who had mentored Katherine Coleman while Coleman was in high school. Dr. Angie Turner King was one of the first Black woman to gain degrees in chemistry and mathematics, and a PhD in Mathematics education. In addition to Katherine Coleman, she also had an influence on Margaret Strickland Collins.
Angie Lena Turner King was one of the first African-American women to gain degrees in chemistry and mathematics, and a PhD in mathematics education. She was a major influence on her students, including Margaret Strickland Collins and Katherine Goble Johnson.
Margaret James Strickland Collins was a Black child prodigy specializing in entomology and the study of termites. She was also a civil rights advocate. Collins was known as the “Termite Lady’ because of her extensive research on termites.
Katherine Coleman gives special credit to W. W. Schieffelin Clayton, a Black mathematician specializing in topology, the study of geometric properties and spatial relations unaffected by the continuous change of shape or size of figures. He was the 3rd Black to get a PhD in mathematics and the first to publish a mathematical research journal. Clayton even added new mathematics courses for Katherine. An amazing student, she graduated summa cum laude ( with highest distinction) in 1937, with degrees in French and Mathematics After graduation, she then took a job teaching in the Black public school in Marion, Virginia.
After graduation, Katherine Coleman married James Goble. In 1939, she left teaching to enroll in a graduate math program. She was the first Black woman to enroll in graduate school at West Virginia University in Morganton, West Virginia, after the 1938 United States Supreme Court after the ruling in Missouri ex rel. Gaines v Canada. That decision ruled that states that provided public higher education to White students also ha to provide it to Black students, either by establishing separate facilities or admitting Blacks to previously White only Schools.
In 1952, she went to work for the agency that would later be known as NASA as an aerospace technologist. She calculated the trajectory for the May 5, 1961 space flight of Alan Shepard. Alan Shepard was the first American to travel in space. He later walked on the moon.
Katherine Coleman married James Goble in 1939, they had 3 daughters, Constance, Joylette and Katherine. In 1956, James Goble died of an inoperable brain tumor. In 1959, she married James Johnson, a United States Army officer. James Johnson and Katherine were married for 60 years until his death in 2019 at the age of 93.
Katherine was always devoted to education and encouraged her 6 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren to pursue higher education. She encouraged many children to pursue careers in science and technology.
Now Johnson, Katherine calculated the flight of John Glenn, the first American to circumnavigate the globe. Glenn asked that Johnson verify the calculations before he would make the flight. It must be noted that these were the early days of computers as we know them, and Glenn wanted verification of their accuracy before putting his life on the line.
Keep in mind that although Woodrow Wilson 28th president of the United States had segregated the work force during his administration, firing Black supervisors and instituting partitions to separate ther races, require separate restrooms and lunchrooms.
By this time, the federal government had removed many of these restrictions, but Virginia state law required segregation of the races and was enforced at Langley, Virginia. Thus, one of the greatest mathematicians had to go to another building to use the restroom or have lunch.
Katherine Johnson worked directly with digital computers and it as her ability and reputation that established confidence in the new at the time technology of digital computers. This work ensured that the Freedom 7 Mercury capsule carrying Alan Shepard was found quickly after landing.
Katherine Johnson’s work was vital to the space missions. She calculated the trajectory of the Apollo 11 flight in 1969. When Apollo 13 developed problems, it was her work on back up procedures and charts that established a safe path for the crew’s lives and safe return.
Johnson worked on the Space Shuttle program, the Earth Resources Satellite and the plans for a mission to Mars.
With the brilliance that Katherine Johnson showed all of her life, it is noteworthy that she has said her father, who only had a 6th grade education was the smartest man she ever knew. He was able to listen to long word problems and solve them. He was dedicated to the education he was not afforded, yet he worked many jobs to ensure that his children were able to take advantage of the opportunities.
It makes one wonder how much further this country would have progressed if it had truly offered opportunities and encouraged ALL to achieve their maximum potential.
As you watch the movie “Hidden Figures” or read the book of the same name, keep in mind the contributions of these brilliant women and wonder how such remarkable history can be hidden and for so long.
Think of all the young girls of all races who have been steered away from scientific and technological pursuits by the hidden fact that they can be some of the most brilliant in these challenging pursuits.
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NASA honors Katherine Johnson with new building named after “Hidden Figures” legend Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility‘
will be named in honor of the woman whose life story was featured in the movie “Hidden Figures”.
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Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson
A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of 2019 “This rich volume is a national treasure.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “Captivating, informative, and inspiring…Easy to follow and hard to put down.” —School Library Journal (starred review) The inspiring autobiography of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson, who helped launch Apollo 11.
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Hidden Figures | Featurette: Achieving The Impossible |
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Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 Handpicked by Amazon kids’ books editor, Seira Wilson, for Prime Book Box –
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2018 Honorary Degree: Katherine Johnson
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Katherine Johnson (You Should Meet)
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NASA Invites Media to Talk with Cast of Hidden Figures
Members of the media were invited to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to participate in a news conference Dec. 12 with cast members from the 20th Century Fox motion picture Hidden Figures.
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A Computer Called Katherine:
How Katherine Johnson Helped Put America on the Moon The inspiring true story of mathematician Katherine Johnson–made famous by the award-winning film Hidden Figures–who counted and computed her way to NASA and helped put a man on the moon! Katherine knew it was wrong that African Americans didn’t have the same rights as others–as wrong as 5+5=12. She knew it was wrong that people thought women could only be teachers or nurses–as wrong as 10-5=3. And she proved everyone wrong by zooming ahead of her classmates, starting college at fifteen, and eventually joining NASA, where her calculations helped pioneer America’s first manned flight into space, its first manned orbit of Earth, and the world’s first trip to the moon!
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What Matters – Katherine Johnson: NASA Pioneer and “Computer”
This week tune in for an incredible conversation with a NASA Langley pioneer. We’ll meet the extraordinary woman whose math skills were so sharp; she was known as the “human computer.” Katherine Johnson worked at NASA Langley in Hampton during the 1950’s—a woman and an African-American who broke through barriers and made history along the way.
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NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson (STEM Trailblazer Bios)
What do you want to be when you grow up? When Katherine Johnson was young, women weren’t expected to go into the math and science fields. Johnson loved math, but she never thought she could be a mathematician. After studying math in school and teaching for a few years, she learned that the organization that would later become NASA was hiring women to complete mathematical equations. As an African American woman, Johnson had to work hard to earn the respect of her coworkers, but they soon came to rely on her brilliant calculations. Her contributions to the US space program helped send astronauts to the moon. Learn how Johnson broke barriers as a female African American mathematician.
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Katherine Johnson: An American Hero 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 mathematical calculations in the early days of human spaceflight, as chronicled in the best-selling book and hit movie “Hidden Figures.”
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Former NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson dies | WNT
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Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race
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America watched with eyes wide open, mouth agasp as the story of Katherine Johnson and the other “Hidden Figures” unfoldedy before our eyes. Hidden because it was an unknown story despite the magnitude of the accomplishments. However we owe a debt of gratitude to Margot lee Shetterly for revealing the story. She was writing about what she knew as she was familiar with the people and work as her father worked at Langley. This story has inspired women, Blacks and people of all races, genders and description. T/he story is possible because Shetterly wrot about what she know. You may do the same. It is not only the people who did the work, but also to those who reveal the remarkable stories that inspire and motivate us.