Katherine Johnson – The Hidden Figure Who Reached the Stars
The Girl Who Loved Numbers
Born in 1918 in West Virginia, Katherine Johnson displayed a
prodigious talent for numbers at an early age. By age 13, she was already
attending high school; by 18, she had graduated college with degrees in
mathematics and French.
Navigating NASA and Segregation
In 1953, Johnson joined the National Advisory Committee for
Aeronautics (later NASA). Despite segregation and gender discrimination, she
became indispensable in calculating trajectories, launch windows, and emergency
return paths. Her most famous contribution came in 1962, when astronaut John
Glenn insisted that she verify the orbital equations before his flight.
Recognition After Silence
For decades, Johnson’s role remained unrecognized, until her
story came to light in the acclaimed film Hidden Figures. She became the
first African-American woman mathematician at NASA to break such barriers,
inspiring generations of young women and minorities to pursue STEM careers. In
2015, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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