KATHERINE JOHNSON

Creola Katherine Coleman
Born: August 26, 1918 White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
Died: February 24, 2020 Newport News, Virginia

She 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. During her 35-year career at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. The space agency noted her "historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist".