Katherine Johnson

Katherine Johnson was an influential figure in STEM that made the most of limited educational opportunities for African Americans, graduating from college at age 18 (Biography.com Editors, 2021). She was crucial in performing critical calculations for the first spaceflights to the Apollo Moon missions and the Space Shuttle program. Her mathematical excellency ensured the success and safety of these missions, including verifying the trajectory for Alan Shephard’s flight (Deiss, 2020). Katherine Johnson was also living proof that inspired many people to always follow their dreams, no matter what the circumstances may entail. She challenged racial or gender stereotypes in STEM fields, broke barriers, and had both bravery and perseverance in order to reach her goals, making many accomplishments in her lifetime. 

Katherine Johnson was born on August 18th, 1918, in West Virginia. Her parents were determined that their four children will complete college. During this time, the school system was heavily segregated. However, this did not stop Katherine Johnson and her family. She was incredibly smart and finished high school when she was only thirteen years old. She enrolled at the historically Black college, West Virginia State and by 18, she graduated with a double degree in French and math (New York Historical Society, n.d.). Katherine even received mentorship from Dr. William Waldron Schieffelin Claytor, who told her that she could become a great mathematician and made sure that she was prepared to become one (Smith, 2017). She was one of the first black women to attend graduate school and graduate program in mathematics at West Virginia University. 

In 1952, Johnson learned that the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was hiring African American women to serve as “computers,” people who performed and checked calculations for technological developments. Johnson applied and was accepted for a position the following year. She was not only able to prove that she had immaculate mathematical calculators but also displayed a curiosity and assertiveness that caught her superiors by surprise (Biography.com Editors, 2021). However, Katherine Johnson did face discrimination but broke racial barriers, such as using the bathroom that was supposed to be for white women only (St. Fleur, 2021). She even found ways to fit into segregated offices and avoided eating in the segregated cafeteria. Katherine also played cards and talked about aviation magazines with her white male colleagues during breaks. Her persistence and intelligence helped earn her respect and many opportunities in the space program (New York Historical Society, n.d.). 

Like mentioned in the introduction, Katherine Johnson has made many major contributions to Space Exploration. She calculated the trajectory for Alan Shephard's 1961 space flight, who was the first American in Space. The next contribution that she made was to send a man in orbit around Earth, which included way more difficult calculations such as accounting for the gravitational pulls of celestial bodies. Even though the work of electronic computers took on increased importance at NASA, Katherine remained highly valuable for her unwavering accuracy and performed calculations for the 1969 Apollo 11 trip to the moon. When Apollo 13 experienced a malfunction in space, her contributions to contingency procedures helped ensure its safe return. Katherine continued to serve as a key asset for NASA, helping it develop its Space Shuttle Program and Earth Resources Satellite until she retired in 1986 (Biography.com Editors, 2021). 

Katherine Johnson retired from NASA after thirty-three years of service in 1986. Although she faced gender and racial discrimination, she was able to contribute a lot to space exploration and advocated for herself and other women who wanted to pursue similar fields and accomplished similar goals. During her tenure at NASA, Johnson received many prestigious awards. Among them included the NASA Lunar Orbiter Award, three NASA Special Achievement Awards, and was named Mathematician of the Year in 1997 by the National Technical Association. In addition to these NASA awards, she was even honored with an honorary Doctor of Law degree from the State University of New York and honorary Doctor of Science degrees from Capitol College in Maryland and Old Dominion University in Virginia (Deiss, 2020). The movie Hidden Figures was able to allow Katherine Johnson and multiple women gain widespread recognition for the work that they were able to contribute for NASA, inspiring countless women and minorities to pursue careers in STEM (St. Fleur, 2021). 

Katherine Johnson had the brilliance and intelligence to break through barriers and reach her goals. She made multiple important contributions to NASA and space exploration as a whole, calculating Apollo 11 and 13, as well as the trajectory of Alan Shephard’s 1961 space flight. Her story reminds us that representation, education, and determination can truly change history, inspiring countless women from around the world to reach their goals no matter what sort of challenges could get in their way. 

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Works Cited:

Biography.com Editors. (2021, January 11). Katherine Johnson - NASA, Death & Hidden Figures. Biography; A&E; Television Networks. https://www.biography.com/scientists/katherine-g-johnson

Britannica. (2018). Katherine Johnson | Biography & Facts. In Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Katherine-Johnson-mathematician

Deiss, H. (2020, February 24). Katherine Johnson: A Lifetime of STEM - NASA. NASA; NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/katherine-johnson-a-lifetime-of-stem/

New York Historical Society. (n.d.). Life Story: Katherine Johnson. Women & the American Story. https://wams.nyhistory.org/growth-and-turmoil/cold-war-beginnings/katherine-johnson/

Smith, D. (2017, May 11). Katherine Johnson and William W. S. Claytor: An HBCU Connection. BLACK and Education. https://blackandeducation.org/stories/katherine-johnson

St. Fleur, N. (2021, January 28). Katherine Johnson. National Geographic Kids. https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/katherine-johnson