Katherine Johnson

By MILLA

Birth date: August 26, 1918

Date deceased: February 24, 2020

Places lived: White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

Main idea

She was a mathematician, teacher and curious with a very skilled mind. She calculated the math for a spaceship perfectly even though there were some challenges along the way! In 2015, Katherine was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama. In 1953 N.A.C.A (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) offered her a job! In 1958 N.A.C.A became N.A.S.A. (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). She went to West Virginia State College, a historically African American college. (People from everywhere went to that school).

Background information

She loved to learn but there were segregation laws so she couldn’t go to some schools. She grew up during the Great Depression. She went to a special school for kindergarten.

Childhood

Racism was hard at the time so she got upset because she could not go to school. She had 3 siblings named: Margaret, Horace and Charles. The Great Depression did not stop Katherine from doing well in school.

Challenges they faced

Jobs were limited when Katherine was looking for work. She did not get paid much. She had to do hard math calculations a lot. She used her voice to say that people were being treated unfairly.

Fun facts

She got a job at NASA and then everyone saw that they could also have jobs that weren’t seen as appropriate for them.

She had help from Mrs. Lacey to know she also wanted a math degree along with a French one.

Her first last name was Coleman.

Character Traits

Determined: to find a path to be a mathematician at the time!

Curious: about math and numbers

Smart: she is smart at subjects and mainly math

Questions

Why did you get a French degree? Why did you become a N.A.S.A mathematician?

Relevance into today

She is important to learn about today because she made everyone able to have whatever job they wanted!

Quotes

“I never needed inspiration to go to work. My work inspired me.”

“The whole idea of going into space was new and daring. There were no textbooks so we had to write them.”