Died: Feb. 24, 2020
Hometown: White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
Hired by NASA : June 1953
Retired from NASA: 1986
Katherine Johnson was an american mathematician.
At school Katherine Johnson's knowledge made her a star student, so got to skip 3 whole grades.
When Katherine was the age of 10 she was ready for highschool. Katherine wanted to go to highschool. she wanted to know as much as possible about numbers, the universe, and everything. Sadly the highschool in her town did not accept black people. Katherine and her family had to travel to another town
where they accepted black people in highschool.
where they accepted black people in highschool.
After highschool Katherine became a teacher, because there where no research mathematical jobs for women. Katherine liked teaching but she never forgot her math dreams. In the 1950's NASA started hiring people even black women as mathematicians. When Katherine applied they said they had no spaces left. Katherine had to wait a whole year till they had new spaces. Katherine got the job with NASA. At NASA Katherine's job was to calculate in her head and on paper how the rocket ship would get safely to the moon and back, because one of the things Katherine is kind of famous for in America is helping the first american rocket ship get to the moon and back safely. Katherine also did the calculation's for lots of other rockets. One day a rocket ship exploded, the 3 men in there had there lives at risk. Katherine had to do her calculation's all over again. They had to go the whole way around the moon and back to earth. Luckily Katherine's calculation's where right and they got back safely. Katherine retired in 1986. Katherine died at the age of 101.
Great bit of research into Katherine Johnson. She was an incredibly bright and talented woman.
ReplyDeleteWow Katherine Johnson was a very special lady who had a huge impact on the American Space Program. She must have had a really amazing brain being able to work out such complicated calculations in her head! If you were that good at Maths, what do you think you might like to achieve or become?
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