Johnson later enrolled in West Virginia State College’s graduate program, as one of the first three African-Americans selected to desegregate the institution after the state decided to move toward the integration of graduate school integration in 1939, but ultimately did not finish the degree to focus on her family 3.Īfter marrying and having children, Johnson used her new degree and enhanced knowledge to begin teaching in primary and secondary schools in her home state of Virginia. in French and Mathematics with honors in 1932 1,2. According to Popular Science, Johnson was born on Women’s Equality Day, a foreshadowing of major accomplishments, not only for women, but also for women of color 2. Johnson’s intellect carried her through school until she graduated high school at the age of 14 before moving on to West Virginia State College (now known as West Virginia State University) to earn a B.S. Katherine Johnson showed an aptitude and interest in mathematics from a young age, prompting her mother, a teacher, and her father, a farmer and janitor, to move the family so that Johnson and her siblings could attend school 1. Johnson passed away today at the age of 101. Today’s post is in honor of Johnson’s contributions to society in commemoration of her life.
#Katherine johnson nasa research facility series#
moon landing, is the thirteenth post in a month-long series of profiles on Black STEM innovators in honor of Black History Month. This profile on Katherine Johnson, Mathematician and computer scientist responsible for the NASA flight path of the first U.S. Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science.