She encouraged them to learn more about STEM careers and to never give up on their dreams. Throughout her retirement, Johnson continued to encourage young scientists to study and work hard. In 2016, NASA named a building after her in their Langley Research Center in Virginia. She received numerous awards and honors for her work, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In her long career, she broke the barriers of both gender and race, and inspired women of all backgrounds globally with her accomplishments. Most notably, in 1969, she was part of the team that calculated where and when to launch the rocket for the Apollo 11 mission – an initiative that sent the first three astronauts to the moon! Johnson later worked on the space shuttle program before retiring in 1986. In 1961, she calculated the path for Freedom 7, the spacecraft that put the first U.S. space program’s early successful launches. Johnson’s ability to calculate precise trajectories was essential to the U.S. In 1953, Johnson began her career at NASA as a “human computer” – a term used for those tasked with solving difficult math problems by themselves, long before computers like those we have today existed.
In 1939, Johnson became one of the first African American students to enroll in a graduate program at West Virginia University, where she continued her studies in mathematics. At only 10, Johnson began attending high school, and at the age of 18 she graduated with the highest honors from West Virginia State College with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and French.
Henson in the 2016 film “Hidden Figures,” and in 2017 she was honored with a Genius Award at LSC’s Genius Gala.īut Johnson’s story began in 1918, when she was born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Katherine Johnson (1918 – 2020) was portrayed by Taraji P. March 8 is International Women’s Day, and today Liberty Science Center celebrates NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson!
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