Katherine Johnson Biography

Katherine Johnson was born in, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, the United States as Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson. She is famous for being an African-American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. manned spaceflights.

Katherine Johnson Age

Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson is 100 years old as of 2018. She was born on August 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, U.S.

Katherine Johnson Family

Katherine Johnson was born in 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, to Joylette who was a teacher and Joshua Coleman, who was a lumberman, farmer, handyman, and worked at the Greenbrier Hotel. She was the youngest of four children.

Katherine Johnson Husband

Katherine was married to James Francis Goble since 1939. The couple had three children: Constance, Joylette, and Katherine. Her husband died of a tumor in 1956. She later married war veteran Lieutenant James A. Johnson in 1959, the two currently lives in Hampton, Virginia.

Katherine Johnson Children

• Constance Goble
• Joylette Goble
• Katherine Goble

Katherine Johnson Death | Katherine Johnson Still Alive

Katherine Johnson is still alive.

Katherine Johnson  Height

Information about her height has not been revealed.

Katherine Johnson Image

Katherine Johnson Career

In 1952, a relative informed her about job openings at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), NASA’s predecessor. NACA was accepting mathematicians, irrespective of race and gender, for their Guidance and Navigation Department. Johnson applied and received a formal job offer in 1953, and she accepted it.
She began working at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory near Virginia as a ‘computer’. She held this position from 1953 to 1958. From West Area Computers section, she was later shifted to the Guidance and Control Division, which mostly had male engineers.
The milieu she worked in was plagued by racist laws. The federal workplace segregation laws required African-American women to work, eat and use restrooms that were different from their peers. The stations where they worked were labeled ‘Colored Computers’.
NACA had to dismantle the colored pool when it was taken over by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958. Under NASA, Johnson was moved to the Spacecraft Controls Branch where she worked as an aerospace technologist from 1958 until 1986, the year of her retirement. *Among her most notable works, she calculated the mathematical computation for the trajectory of Alan Shepard’s space flight on May 5, 1961. He became the first American who went to space. She was also involved in the launch calculations of his Mercury mission.
She was also crucial in plotting the navigator charts for astronauts in situations where electric systems failed. When NASA adopted the latest technology, astronaut John Glenn specifically asked Johnson to calculate his orbit around the earth. He also stated that he wouldn’t fly until Johnson verified the math.
With the advent of digital computers, Johnson started working with them directly and soon mastered the new technology available to her. She calculated the trajectory for the Apollo 11 flight that landed on the moon in 1969.
In 1970, she worked on the Apollo 13 moon mission. When the mission was officially aborted, her calculations that focused on backup procedures and navigation charts ensured the crew’s safe return to Earth.
Towards the end of her career, Johnson worked for the Space Shuttle Program, the Earth Resources Satellite and a mission on Mars. She retired from Nasa in 1986.
The life of Johnson along with some of her fellow mathematicians was chronicled in the book, ‘Hidden Figures,’ by Margot Lee Shetterly. The book was adapted into a critically-acclaimed film of the same name in 2016, wherein her role was essayed by Taraji Henson. The movie was nominated for the Academy Awards that year, which was attended by Johnson.

Katherine Johnson  Net Worth

Katherine Johnson net worth has been estimated to $74,279. Katherine’s has made a good sum of money during her time as a maths teacher.

Katherine Johnson Quotes

• We will always have STEM with us. …
• Girls are capable of doing everything men are capable of doing. …
• Like what you do, and then you will do your best. …
• We needed to be assertive as women in those days – assertive and aggressive – and the degree to which we had to be that way depended on where you were.

Katherine Johnson Facts

• She was a freshman in high school at the age of 10 and graduated from college at just 18.
• One of Johnson’s first NASA assignments was to look at the black box data from crashed airplanes.
• She Worked Backwards to Make Project Mercury a Success
• Johnson worked on the calculations that allowed the Apollo astronauts to return home from the Moon.
  She Was Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015

Katherine Johnson Movie

• Hidden Figures  2016 ‧

Katherine Johnson Contributions

Katherine Johnson is an African-American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. manned spaceflights.

Katherine Johnson Medal Of Freedom

Katherine Johnson received Medal of Freedom an award bestowed by the President of the United States. The Presidential Medal of Freedom, highest civilian awards of the United States.

Katherine Johnson Video

         Katherine Johnson Interview

           Published: February 19, 2018

            Source: www.aarp.org

Your work at NASA beginning in the 1950s made you a pioneer for African American women as well as for the space program. How did you cope with the discrimination common in America in that era?

My colleagues and I were committed to the work. We found different ways to deal with the segregation.

In the cafeteria, we just ignored the sign [for segregated seating]. But at some point, we started eating at our desks. When we left work, our lives were definitely separate — separate communities, separate schools for our children, separate grocery stores and churches. But then we’d be back with our colleagues on the job. People are people. My father’s advice helped. He said, “You’re no better than anybody else, but nobody is better than you.”

What caused your love for math?

I was always interested in math. I counted everything as a child — the number of steps up the stairs, the dishes, the steps to the church. Those thoughts just came naturally. While I skipped grades in school, my parents made sure I stayed grounded.

Explain what math means to you.

It’s just there. You can’t do anything without it. It’s in everything. I like to work on problems. If you do your best, nobody can ask you to do it over again. I never had to repeat what I did.

Hidden Figures has scenes about you and John Glenn, the first astronaut to fly around the Earth. Were they accurate or just Hollywood embellishment?

I did the calculations to put him into orbit. NASA began using computers, but [the astronauts] were used to somebody doing the calculations. John Glenn said, “What did the girl get? If she agrees with the computer, then I’ll trust the computer.”  I was able to work out the calculation several places past the decimal point, and he said OK to the mission.

You also worked on the first manned flight by Alan Shepard, the moon landing and the space shuttle. It must have been an exciting time to work at NASA.

I believed I was where I was supposed to be. When I was a student, my mentor told me I’d make a good research mathematician. I said, “What is that?” and he told me I’d have to find out for myself. At NASA, I happened to be at the right place at the right time. When you put bright people in a room and they had something to do, they worked on it until they got it done. But honestly, it was never working to me.   We put in some long hours at times, and I had three children at home. But they were very responsive, and I had family and friends who helped look after them.

How have you stayed active and engaged since you retired from NASA in 1986?

I’ve spent a lot of time tutoring kids in math as a volunteer. I’ve always enjoyed helping people understand what they can find in math. There’s no judgment there.  From time to time I’ve spoken to school groups about my work at NASA. I’ve also been active in my church and my sorority [Alpha Kappa Alpha]. I like to play bridge and other games that involve math.

What do you think of computers now? Would you rather use them to help solve math problems?

I’ve told my grandchildren, “First you learn how to work the problem, and then you can go use the computer.” I never liked that they could use a computer to find the answer.

You’ve got a lot of accolades for your work with the space program. Most recently, you had a building named for you at NASA’s Langley Research Center. How did that make you feel?

It was a nice tribute. I don’t know what all the fuss was about, though. I was just doing my job.

How would you encourage a young person to be successful in today’s world?

Follow your passion. Whatever you’re doing, do your best at all times and make it as correct as possible. Work as if someone is watching you. Then you’ll be prepared when an opportunity presents itself. And you’ll have the answers.