Creola Katherine Johnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights.

May 25, 2017 · Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson (1918– ) is an African-American mathematician who made valuable contributions to critical aeronautics and space programs of the NACA and NASA.

Feb 20, 2025 · Katherine Johnson, American mathematician who calculated and analyzed the flight paths of many spacecraft during her more than three decades with the U.S. space program. Her work helped send astronauts to the Moon. She …

Nov 22, 2016 · She died on Feb. 24, 2020. NASA Administrator James Bridenstine said, “Our NASA family is sad to learn the news that Katherine Johnson passed away this morning at 101 years old. She was an American hero and her pioneering legacy will never be forgotten.”

Oct 10, 2016 · Best Known For: One of NASA's human 'computers,' Katherine Johnson performed the complex calculations that enabled humans to successfully achieve space flight.

Jan 6, 2017 · Katherine Goble Johnson, heralded as the first African American woman in Aerospace Engineering, was born on August 26, 1918, in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia, a city where schooling for “colored” people ended with the eighth grade.

Nov 5, 2024 · As a human computer, Katherine calculated the trajectory for astronaut Alan Shepard’s 1961 Freedom 7 mission to space – the first spaceflight for an American. Early on, when they said they wanted the capsule to come down at a certain place, they were trying to compute when it should start.

Nearly two decades before the Little Rock Nine, Katherine Johnson was chosen as one of three Black students, and the first Black woman, to integrate West Virginia University and pursue graduate studies. She studied math, but soon left to start a family.

Feb 24, 2020 · In NASA’s early years, gifted mathematicians analyzed and verified complex aerospace data. Today, one of the most recognized of these ‘human computers’ is Katherine Johnson. Lesson: Love learning. In school, one teacher stood out to Johnson. Miss Turner taught geometry, and Johnson couldn’t wait to take her class.

Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson is an American mathematician who is known for her contributions to the U.S. space program. Her calculations and analysis have helped astronauts go to the Moon and chart many flight paths.