Dawayne Eason, CPCU
February 9, 2021
Known as a Human Computer; Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson was born in 1918 in West Virginia. From a very young age counting and all mathematically related concepts were a focus in Katherine’s life. With her high intellect, she graduated from High School at 14 and graduated from West Virginia State College at 18.
At West Virginia State College Katherine earned a double degree in mathematics and French. She also attended the graduate math program in 1939.
Her career was as a physicist and mathematician who helped launch the first use of digital electronic computers at NASA. It was her calculations that planned trajectory for the 1961 Mercury mission as well as the orbit for the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the moon.
Katherine’s life was brought to the big screen in the critically acclaimed movie Hidden Figures. In 2015, Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her pioneering work that led black women to work in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
RESOURCES