Katherine Johnson

For other people with similar names, see Katharine Johnson.

Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson
Johnson in 1983
Born
Creola Katherine Coleman

(1918-08-26)August 26, 1918
White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, U.S.
DiedFebruary 24, 2020(2020-02-24) (aged 101)
Newport News, Virginia, U.S.
Other namesKatherine Goble
EducationWest Virginia State University (BS)
OccupationMathematician
Employers
Known forCalculating trajectories for NASA missions
Spouses
  • James Goble
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1939; died 1956)​
  • Jim Johnson
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1959; died 2019)​
Children3
Awards
Websitekatherinejohnson.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]

  1. ^ *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.
  2. ^ Fox, Margalit (February 24, 2020). "Katherine Johnson Dies at 101; Mathematician Broke Barriers at NASA". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference off was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Laura B. Edge (2020). Apollo 13: A Successful Failure. Millbrook Press. pp. 64–65. ISBN 9781541595781.
  5. ^ "'Hidden Figures' Honored at U.S. Capitol for Congressional Gold Medal". December 10, 2019.
  6. ^ "Michelle Obama, Mia Hamm chosen for Women's Hall of Fame". March 8, 2021.