Katherine Johnson, Date of Birth, Place of Birth

Katherine Johnson

American mathematician and physicist

Date of Birth: 26-Aug-1918

Place of Birth: White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, United States

Profession: teacher, computer scientist, physicist, mathematician, aerospace engineer

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson (born August 26, 1918) is 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".Johnson's work included calculating trajectories, launch windows and emergency return paths for Project Mercury spaceflights, including those for astronauts Alan Shepard, the first American in space, and John Glenn, the first American in orbit, and rendezvous paths for the Apollo Lunar Module and command module on flights to the Moon.
Her calculations were also essential to the beginning of the Space Shuttle program, and she worked on plans for a mission to Mars.
In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
She was portrayed by Taraji P.
Henson as a lead character in the 2016 film Hidden Figures. In 2019, Johnson was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.