John Glenn Refused to Fly Until She Checked the Math. NASA Made Her Use a Separate Bathroom.

Her math sent the first American into space. NASA forgot to put her name on a single report for 33 years. Katherine Johnson calculated the trajectory for Alan Shepard's 1961 flight - making him the first American in space. She verified the computer's calculations for John Glenn's orbital mission. Glenn himself refused to fly until she personally checked the numbers. She calculated the rendezvous paths for the Apollo 11 Moon landing. For decades, most of the world had no idea she existed. Born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia in 1918, Katherine's father drove the family 40 miles north every year - just so she could attend a school that educated Black children beyond 8th grade. She graduated high school at 14. College at 18, with degrees in math and French. She was one of three Black students selected to integrate West Virginia University's graduate program. She joined NASA's predecessor, NACA, in 1952 - assigned to the segregated West Area Computing section. She used the white restrooms anyway. She demanded access to editorial briefings. She refused to disappear. John Glenn asked for Katherine Johnson by name to verify the computer's calculations by hand. Because he trusted her more than the machine. She retired in 1986 after 33 years. Her own daughters didn't fully know the scope of what she had done until one found a 1961 newspaper article mentioning her name. In 2015, President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She died in 2020 at 101. Her name belongs in every history book. #KatherineJohnson #HiddenFigures #NASA #MoonLanding #WomenInSTEM #SpaceRace #BlackHistory #WomensHistory #FemaleObscura 🔔 Subscribe for a new forgotten woman every week!