At My AgePeople

Science · United States

Katherine Johnson

Started high school at 10, sent men to the Moon at 50

Portrait of Katherine Johnson
Photo: NASA (1966), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · source

Born Aug 26, 1918 · Died Feb 24, 2020

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Every entry, with its source

At 0

  1. Aug 26, 1918

    Born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

    Youngest of four. She counted everything as a child: steps, dishes, stars.

    Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 9

  1. c. 1928

    Started high school at 10

    Her county offered no schooling for Black children past eighth grade, so the family moved for the school year.

    Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 18

  1. c. 1937

    Graduated summa cum laude in maths and French at 18

    A professor had created advanced courses just for her.

    Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 20

  1. c. 1939

    Among the first Black students at West Virginia University

    She left the graduate programme after a term when she became pregnant, and taught school instead.

    Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 34

  1. Jun 1953

    Hired as a human computer at NACA's Langley lab, at 34

    She joined the segregated West Area Computing unit, then was moved to the flight research division within weeks.

    Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 38

  1. Dec 1956

    Widowed at 38 with three daughters

    Her husband James Goble died of a brain tumour. She remarried in 1959.

    Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 42

  1. Sep 1960

    First woman in her division credited as a report author

    A paper on placing a satellite over a chosen spot on Earth.

    Source: en.wikipedia.org
  2. May 5, 1961

    Calculated the path of America's first human spaceflight

    Alan Shepard's 15-minute Freedom 7 hop.

    Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 43

  1. Feb 20, 1962

    John Glenn asked her to check the computer's numbers by hand

    He would not fly the first US orbital mission until she confirmed them. She was 43.

    Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 50

  1. Jul 1969

    Helped calculate the path for the Apollo 11 Moon landing

    She was 50. She later worked on the Apollo 13 return and the Space Shuttle.

    Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 67

  1. c. 1986

    Retired from NASA after 33 years

    She spent the following decades encouraging students to study maths and science.

    Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 97

  1. Nov 24, 2015

    Presidential Medal of Freedom at 97

    Presented by Barack Obama.

    Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 98

  1. Dec 2016

    Portrayed in the film Hidden Figures at 98

    She appeared on stage at the Oscars the following February to a standing ovation.

    Source: en.wikipedia.org

At 101

  1. Feb 24, 2020

    Died in Newport News, Virginia, at 101

    Source: en.wikipedia.org

Sources: en.wikipedia.org