Dorothy Vaughan
NASA mathematician and the first Black supervisor at NACA
- Lived
- 98 yrs
- 1910 – 2008
- Works listed
- 0
- Career highlights
- Honours
- 1
- Most recent 2019
- Profile views
- 2
- 0 followers
Dorothy Vaughan was an African-American mathematician who led NACA’s segregated West Area Computing unit, becoming the agency’s first Black supervisor. When electronic computers arrived, she taught herself and her staff Fortran. Her story was told in Hidden Figures.
Biography
Early life
Vaughan graduated in mathematics from Wilberforce University in Ohio in 1929 and worked for years as a maths teacher in Virginia.
West Area Computing
In 1943 she joined the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory as a “human computer” in the segregated West Area Computing unit. In 1949 she became its acting head and later its official supervisor — NACA’s first Black supervisor.
The computer age
Foreseeing that electronic computers would replace human computers, she learned Fortran and taught it to her staff. After segregation ended at NACA in 1958, she joined the Analysis and Computation Division and worked on the Scout rocket programme.
Legacy
She retired in 1971 and died in 2008. Octavia Spencer played her in the film Hidden Figures, and she was posthumously awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in 2019.
Timeline
-
1910
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, United States
-
1929
Graduates from Wilberforce University
-
1943
Joins Langley
-
1949
Leads West Area Computing
-
1958
NASA formed; segregation ends
-
1971
Retires
-
2008
Dies
-
2019
Congressional Gold Medal
-
2008
Died, aged 98
Awards and honours
-
Congressional Gold Medal
2019 · Posthumous.
Did you know?
-
1
Octavia Spencer received an Oscar nomination for playing her.
-
2
She mentored Katherine Johnson and many others.
-
3
She worked on the Scout launch vehicle programme.
Connections
Also born on 20 September
Frequently asked
Who is Dorothy Vaughan?
Dorothy Vaughan was an African-American mathematician who led NACA’s segregated West Area Computing unit, becoming the agency’s first Black supervisor. When electronic computers arrived, she taught herself and her staff Fortran. Her story was told in Hidden Figures.
When did Dorothy Vaughan die?
Dorothy Vaughan died on 10 November 2008 at the age of 98.
Where is Dorothy Vaughan from?
Dorothy Vaughan was born in Kansas City, Missouri, United States.
What is Dorothy Vaughan known for?
Dorothy Vaughan is best known for Leading West Area Computing; becoming an expert Fortran programmer; Hidden Figures.
What awards has Dorothy Vaughan received?
Notable honours include Congressional Gold Medal (2019).
References
- Dorothy Vaughan — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Dorothy Vaughan — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Dorothy Vaughan — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Dorothy Vaughan (Q22915129) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Dorothy Vaughan”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Dorothy Vaughan.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/dorothy-vaughan
Discussion 0
Sign in or create an account to join the discussion.
No comments yet — be the first.
More in Science
Science
Margaret Hamilton
MIT engineer who led the software for the Apollo Moon landings and coined “software engineering”
1936 – 2026
Science
Katherine Johnson
NASA mathematician whose calculations sent astronauts into orbit and to the Moon
1918 – 2020
Science
U. R. Rao
Space scientist who built India’s first satellite
1932 – 2017
Science
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Astrophysicist who discovered the Chandrasekhar limit
1910 – 1995
Science
Tessy Thomas
DRDO scientist who led the Agni missile projects
Science
Satish Dhawan
Aerospace engineer who led ISRO after Vikram Sarabhai
1920 – 2002