Katherine Johnson

Born: Aug. 26, 1918 in West Virginia

Died: 2020 🙁

Physicist and mathematician who significantly contributed to the US space & aeronautical programs.

She worked as a “human computer” (person who checks math calculations) for NASA.

Her team ensured that American astronauts got safely to and safely back from space.

Her calculations of rocket trajectories and emergency return paths were so exact that Astronaut John Glenn would specifically ask for her, refusing to fly until she had verified the flight path.

Received Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“You are no better than anyone else, and no one is better than you.”