Katherine G. Johnson
If you’ve seen the movie “Hidden Figures,” the name Katherine G. Johnson may be familiar to you. She was an invaluable mathematician for NASA (and its predecessor, NACA) from 1953 until her retirement in 1986. In this role, she calculated the flight trajectory for Alan Shepard’s voyage into space in 1959 and verified the mathematical equations behind John Glenn’s earthly orbit in 1962. In fact, her work was so thoroughly trusted, Glenn refused to go into space until Katherine confirmed the computer-generated numbers were correct. Later, her equations sent the first men to the moon. But the road to this revered position was not an easy one.
Katherine was born in 1918 in Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Her father worked as a farmer and janitor while her mother taught school. It was clear, from a very young age, she had an affinity for mathematics. Those who attended church with her family recall her counting her steps everywhere she went and making a mental note of how many steps she took on familiar routes.
Sulphur Springs was a segregated community at that time, so her father moved the family to Institute, West Virginia where his four children would receive an education. Katherine graduated from high school at the age of 14. By the time she was 18 years old, she had completed a Bachelor of Science in French and Mathematics at West Virginia State University. She began working on her master’s degree as one of the black students integrated into a West Virginia graduated school, but her first husband’s untimely death and the needs of her children prevented her from finishing the program.
They did not, however, stop her from doing great things. Although her first application to NASA (NACA at the time) was rejected, she persisted. In 1953 she landed a job as a research mathematician on an all-male flight research team. Over the course of her career, she essentially wrote the textbook on rocket science.
Public domain photo obtained through Wikimedia Commons.
In her autobiography, Reaching the Moon, Katherine discusses the role her abiding faith in God played throughout her life. As a child, her spiritual understanding helped her navigate racial biases that threatened to undermine her. As a new wife and young mother, clinging to God saw her through the loss of her husband and the challenges of being a single parent, though she was remarried to Lt. Colonel James A. Johnson. In her career, her faith was a source of strength and character as a woman in a man’s world.
While she was busy working and raising children, she was also actively involved in her church. She sang in the choir and served on the finance committed for five decades. And she raised her children to love and fear the Lord, often questioning them about what they had learned in church and discussing biblical truths.
“You lose your curiosity when you stop learning.”
Katherine Johnson
After her retirement, Katherine received several notable honors. She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science by Capital College of Laurel, Maryland. Nasa named a Cygnus cargo craft after her, the S.S. Katherine Johnson. And, when she was 97 years old, she was awarded the Presidential Metal of Freedom by Barack Obama.
Despite the odds being against her, God caused Katherine to accomplish great things in her lifetime. She gave her God-given gifts back to Him and to the world.
