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Katherine Johnson
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Katherine Johnson

NASA mathematician whose calculations sent astronauts into orbit and to the Moon

26 August 1918 – 24 February 2020 United States Verified by our editors
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Lived
101 yrs
1918 – 2020
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Katherine Johnson was an African-American mathematician at NASA whose calculations of orbital trajectories were critical to the first American crewed spaceflights and the Apollo Moon landing. Her story, told in the book and film Hidden Figures, made her a symbol of overcoming racial and gender barriers.

Biography

Early life

Johnson showed exceptional talent with numbers and graduated from high school at 14. She earned degrees in mathematics and French at West Virginia State College at 18 and was one of the first Black students to integrate West Virginia University’s graduate school.

Human computer

In 1953 she joined the West Area Computing unit at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in Langley, Virginia, a segregated group of Black women mathematicians. She was soon assigned to the flight research division.

Spaceflight

She calculated the trajectory for Alan Shepard’s 1961 flight. Before John Glenn’s 1962 orbital flight, Glenn asked that she personally check the electronic computer’s calculations — “If she says they’re good, then I’m ready to go.” She worked on Apollo 11’s trajectory and on the Apollo 13 rescue.

Recognition

She retired in 1986. President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, and NASA named a computing facility after her. She died in 2020 aged 101.

Timeline

  1. 1918

    Born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, United States

  2. 1937

    Graduates from West Virginia State College

  3. 1953

    Joins NACA Langley

  4. 1961

    Calculates Alan Shepard’s trajectory

  5. 1962

    Checks John Glenn’s orbit

  6. 1969

    Works on Apollo 11

  7. 1986

    Retires from NASA

  8. 2015

    Presidential Medal of Freedom

  9. 2020

    Dies aged 101

  10. 2020

    Died, aged 101

Notable works

  • 1960

    Determination of Azimuth Angle at Burnout for Placing a Satellite Over a Selected Earth Position Report

    With Ted Skopinski.

Awards and honours

  • Presidential Medal of Freedom

    2015

  • Congressional Gold Medal

    2019

Did you know?

  1. 1

    She was the first woman in her division to be credited as an author of a research report.

  2. 2

    Taraji P. Henson played her in Hidden Figures.

  3. 3

    NASA’s Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility opened in 2017.

Connections

Related people

Also born on 26 August

Frequently asked

Who is Katherine Johnson?

Katherine Johnson was an African-American mathematician at NASA whose calculations of orbital trajectories were critical to the first American crewed spaceflights and the Apollo Moon landing. Her story, told in the book and film Hidden Figures, made her a symbol of overcoming racial and gender barriers.

When did Katherine Johnson die?

Katherine Johnson died on 24 February 2020 at the age of 101.

Where is Katherine Johnson from?

Katherine Johnson was born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, United States.

What is Katherine Johnson known for?

Katherine Johnson is best known for Orbital calculations for Mercury and Apollo; Hidden Figures; Presidential Medal of Freedom 2015.

What awards has Katherine Johnson received?

Notable honours include Presidential Medal of Freedom (2015), Congressional Gold Medal (2019).

References

  1. Katherine Johnson — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  2. Katherine Johnson — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  3. Katherine Johnson — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  4. Official website. katherinejohnson.net. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
  5. Katherine Johnson (Q11740) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.

Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Katherine Johnson”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more

External links

Official website Website Wikipedia
Filed under African-American historyHidden FiguresNASAWomen in science MathematicianPhysicist

About this profile

Cite this page

“Katherine Johnson.” TrackFame, last updated 4 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/katherine-johnson

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