Science
Katherine Johnson
1918 – 2020
West Virginia State University, BS Mathematics and French, at 18. NASA mathematician at Langley from 1953 to 1986. Calculated the trajectory of Alan Shepard's 1961 flight, the orbital mechanics of John Glenn's 1962 mission (Glenn refused to fly until she had personally verified the IBM 7090's calculations), and the Apollo 11 lunar trajectory. Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2015.
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