For other people with similar names, see Katharine Johnson.
Katherine Johnson
Johnson in 1983
Born
Creola Katherine Coleman
(1918-08-26)August 26, 1918
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, U.S.
Died
February 24, 2020(2020-02-24) (aged 101)
Newport News, Virginia, U.S.
Other names
Katherine Goble
Education
West Virginia State University (BS)
Occupation
Mathematician
Employers
NACA
NASA (1953–1986)
Known for
Calculating trajectories for NASA missions
Spouses
James Goble
(m. 1939; died 1956)
Jim Johnson
(m. 1959; died 2019)
Children
3
Awards
Presidential Medal of Freedom (2015)
Silver Snoopy award (2016)
NASA Group Achievement Award (2016)
Congressional Gold Medal (2019)
Website
katherinejohnson.net
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 pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. The space agency noted her "historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist".[3]
Johnson's work included calculating trajectories, launch windows, and emergency return paths for Project Mercury spaceflights, including those for astronauts Alan Shepard, the first American in space, and John Glenn, the first American in orbit, and rendezvous paths for the Apollo Lunar Module and command module on flights to the Moon.[4] Her calculations were also essential to the beginning of the Space Shuttle program, and she worked on plans for a mission to Mars. She was known as a "human computer" for her tremendous mathematical capability and ability to work with space trajectories with such little technology and recognition at the time.
In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2016, she was presented with the Silver Snoopy Award by NASA astronaut Leland D. Melvin and a NASA Group Achievement Award. She was portrayed by Taraji P. Henson as a lead character in the 2016 film Hidden Figures. In 2019, Johnson was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress.[5] In 2021, she was inducted posthumously into the National Women's Hall of Fame.[6]
^*Smith, Yvette (November 24, 2015). "Katherine Johnson: The Girl Who Loved to Count". NASA. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved February 12, 2016. Her calculations proved as critical to the success of the Apollo Moon landing program and the start of the Space Shuttle program, as they did to those first steps on the country's journey into space.
^Fox, Margalit (February 24, 2020). "Katherine Johnson Dies at 101; Mathematician Broke Barriers at NASA". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
^Cite error: The named reference off was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Laura B. Edge (2020). Apollo 13: A Successful Failure. Millbrook Press. pp. 64–65. ISBN 9781541595781.
^"'Hidden Figures' Honored at U.S. Capitol for Congressional Gold Medal". December 10, 2019.
^"Michelle Obama, Mia Hamm chosen for Women's Hall of Fame". March 8, 2021.
Creola KatherineJohnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a...
Shetterly about three female African-American mathematicians: Katherine Goble Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary...
facility was renamed to the KatherineJohnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility in honor of KatherineJohnson, an African-American woman...
other concepts to prepare them for the transition. Mathematician KatherineJohnson was initially assigned to Vaughan's group, before being transferred...
In 2012, Smith returned to television with the role of First Lady KatherineJohnson in the syndicated sitcom, The First Family. In 2014, Smith was cast...
Katherine "Kathy" Johnson Clarke (born Katherine Ann Johnson; September 13, 1959) is an American sports commentator and former artistic gymnast. Johnson...
research in geophysics, astrophysics, astronomy and meteorology. The KatherineJohnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility (IV&V) in Fairmont...
Sheila Crump Johnson (born January 25, 1949) is an American businesswoman, co-founder of BET, CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts, and the first billionaire...
Figures Way in honor of some of NASA's black women mathematicians, KatherineJohnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary W. Jackson, who were the central characters...
Maya Angelou (/ˈændʒəloʊ/ AN-jə-loh; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist...
Machine. Bremer, Susan (2006), "The grind", in Egan, Danielle; Frank, Katherine; Johnson, Merri (eds.), Flesh for fantasy: producing and consuming exotic dance...
advocacy of cultural and civic endeavors. At the University of Chicago, Katherine Graham has a dormhouse in Max Palevsky Residential Commons named after...
(scientist), planetary scientist Kathryn Magnolia Johnson (1878–1954), educator and political activist KatherineJohnson (1918–2020), American physicist, space scientist...
Katherine Anne Couric (/ˈkɜːrɪk/ KURR-ik; born January 7, 1957) is an American journalist and presenter. She is founder of Katie Couric Media, a multimedia...
2018). "Barbie unveils dolls based on Amelia Earhart, Frida Kahlo, KatherineJohnson and Chloe Kim". CNN. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018...
from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved April 7, 2014. Jone Johnson Lewis. "Nellie Bly". About.com. Archived from the original on February...
from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2008. Wilkie, Katherine E. (1969). Helen Keller: Handicapped Girl. Atheneum. ISBN 978-0-672-50076-3...
publication of Dye's novel, the first book devoted exclusively to Sacagawea, Katherine Chandler's The Bird-Woman of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, appeared...
from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved September 28, 2010. "St. Katherine Drexel Parish, Cape Coral, Florida". Archived from the original on July...
Progress Administration. May 1943. p. 209. ISBN 9781623760519. Krohn, Katherine E. (2005). Wild West Women. Lerner Publications. p. 55. ISBN 9780822526469...
Global Information