Katherine Johnson: An American Hidden Figure

the movie hidden figures starring Taraji P Henson as Katherine Johnson a mathematician working for NASA in the basement including many other African American or black women 4 sanctioned because of the color rise up due to this good skills and Mathematics and Science Technology and Engineering to help with a great

Mary Jackson was an African American mathematician who worked for NASA as an aerospace engineer. She helped launch the space program and worked for women’s working rights. This is the story of the life of Mary Jackson.

Mary settled working in NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) in 1951. She worked and was the member of the west area computing unit, were at the time was called the “human computer”. She was supervised by Dorothy Vaughan who was also a comprising African American female mathematician. Both women provided data that was important for the early success of the space

Who is Annie Easley? Maybe she was one of the four African Americans to work for NASA out of 2,500 employees. Or maybe she was a human computer, a mathematician, or a math technician? Who was Annie Easley?

“Calculating trajectories is no simple task,” but to Katherine Johnson and other computers at NASA and JPL, it’s just another everyday job. The film Hidden Figures focuses on African American women who were computers at the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia. Furthermore, the book Rise of the Rocket Girls is directed towards women who were computers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. The connection between these two literary works are similar in terms of the characters but different regarding background.

She joined a Computation Division, becoming an expert Fortran programmer, and worked on the SCOUT (Solid Controlled Orbital Utility Test) Launch Vehicle Program, one of the nation’s most successful and reliable launch vehicles, used for launching a 385-pund satellite into a 500-mile orbit. Dorothy lived a memorable life and will never be

As Kate grew up, she not only showed an interest in the outdoors, but she showed promise in the fields of math and science, a field that saw little female participation. Once she became old enough, Kate attended the University of Toronto where she studied Math, Physics and Astronomy. At University she won the prestigious Edward Blake scholarship twice and a gold medal for her

They were specifically looking for African-American females to work as “computers” in what was then the Guidance and Navigation Department. She began working or NACA in 1953 and worked on problems assigned from engineers. While working, Johnson began to ask questions, such as the “hows” and “whys”, but this began to make her stand out. She began attending briefings in which she became more known for her training in geometry. While doing work for NASA, she had the honor of receiving tenure. She became more popular around the workplace and was becoming a leader, as more of the men began to rely on her. Johnson continued on to do calculations for the Freedom 7, Friendship 7, and even the Apollo 11 mission which landed three individuals on the moon. She also did calculations for the Space Shuttle

Mary Jackson First African American Female Engineer Engineer ,persistent , and hidden figure are three words that people think of in connection to Mary Jackson. Many people know that Mary Jackson was an engineer, but she was so much more. As a engineer, Mary Jackson showed America that through persistence, hard work, and determination that even in the 1960’s segregation an African-American women, can be a great engineer. She left a legacy as NASA’s first African American Female engineer.

Katherine Johnson is known for all of her groundbreaking creations in the world of math, science, and astronomy. The items she is most famous for her calculations and trajectories for the Apollo 11, as well as the Apollo 13 calculations (Webster, R. B., 1999). Her calculations were so accurate and correct that she was asked to double check the computer ("Katherine Johnson", 2017). The people that were this smart were called a human computer, which was someone that worked as fast and diligently as a computer ("Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson", 2007).

Katherine Johnson is the main focus in the movie. She gets moved from the West computers where the colored women work to work for Al Harrison who is the director of the space test group in the East Area. Katherine Goble Johnson becomes Harrison’s analytical geometry computer. When she gets there one of the men give her the trash can because he thinks that she is the custodian. Also, Katherine goes to get a cup of coffee and all the men stare at her. The next day there is a coffee pot that says colored. Katherine goes to poor it but the pot is empty. Then Katherine has to use the bathroom and asks her supervisor where’s the bathroom and her supervisor says “I don’t know where your bathroom is.” So she ends up having to run half a mile to the bathroom and back. Further on in the movie Johnson goes to bathroom on a rainy day and when she comes back Al asks her where she goes everyday for 40 minutes. Katherine ends up flipping out explaining that she gets paid poorly,can’t afford pearls,and how she feels because all of them don’t wanna touch the coffee pot just because she’s a colored woman. In the end Katherine goes on to perform calculations for the Apollo II mission to the moon and space shuttle. The movie states that in 2016 there was a building dedicated for her and her work with space travel called Katherine Goble Johnson Computational Building. Also, at the age of ninety seven she was awarded with the Presidential medal of freedom. One of Katherine’s colleges that

“Follow your passion, follow your dreams, but most of all follow your heart” (unknown). In the world there will always be people who don’t want you to succeed. It could be because of the color or your skin or because they are just jealous of you . Unfortunately, Katherine Johnson had to figure this out the hard way. Johnson is an African-American mathematician who made contributions to the United States aeronautics and space programs with the early application of digital electronic computers at NASA. She was known as a “human computer” at NASA. Johnson accoplished her goals by ignoring all of the negativity in her life and staying focused. While reading information on her, as well as watching the movie “Hidden Figures”, she inspired me quickly.

Hidden Figures, a book about 3 African American women who overcame adversity, takes place in the mid 1960s. A time where racism was at its worst and poverty was in effect. The names were Katherine Goble, Dorothy Vaughn, and Mary Jackson, who were all 3 geniuses in their fields of study. Katherine was a math expert, Dorothy was a supervisor, and Mary was an engineer. During a time of racism, nobody would’ve imagined that 3 African American women, along with many more women, that they would work for N.A.S.A. These 3 women went through so many obstacles in their life. These 3 women are perfect examples of overcoming anything that stands in your way.

Progression in technology comes with progression of education. The movie “Hidden Figures” highlights the opportunities involved when intelligent, courageous women take strides to create the math to send astronauts to the moon. This movie is about three historical African American women who worked as “human computers” at the NASA Research Center in Langley, VA in the early 1960’s. Katherine Johnson (fellow mathematician), Dorothy Vaughn (programmer) and Mary Jackson (engineer), contributed to NASA space program to successfully send John Glenn, the first man to orbit around the earth, Project Mercury and later Apollo II mission. The film is a powerful reminder of the destructive consequences of discrimination. It holds important career lessons about how to manage and excel at work even under challenging circumstances.

The movie Hidden Figures is about 3 African American women who work for NASA during the 1950’s.The three women are Katherine Johnson,Dorothy Vaughn,and Mary Jackson.Katherine Johnson had a hidden talent that most of the people that worked at NASA didn't know she had , she was a master with the numbers.Dorothy was the manager of NASA's segregated West Area Computing Unit and she was also good with the numbers,just not as good as Katherine.Mary Jackson was an American mathematician and aerospace engineer that worked at NASA,along with the other three girls.Many African American women worked for NASA they just don't receive much recognition but these three women seem to have changed the game for everyone.