A Women in Mathematics Day Special

Katherine Johnson

By: Katelin Kukk

Katherine Johnson, born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, was an amazing inspiration for women in math and sciences. Due to her wicked intelligence, she was able to start high school at the age of 13 and graduated college at 19. She started to teach after her degree but was then selected as one of the first three black students to enroll in graduate school. She started one semester of her math program but left to start a family with her husband.

In 1953, she started working for NACA, National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Which consisted of African American women who manually calculated mathematical equations for engineers. Katherine later on joined the space task group and became the first women to receive credit on a research report in 1960. One of her most important roles was when she was able to confirm calculations for astronaut John Glenn, who became the first U.S. astronaut to orbit earth.

Katherine Johnson is a well missed figure who passed in 2020 and will forever inspire young women in the same field.