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How Did Katherine Johnson Is The Woman Behind America's Race To The Moon

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How Did Katherine Johnson Is The Woman Behind America's Race To The Moon
Katherine Johnson: The Woman Behind America’s Race to the Moon

Have you heard of John Glenn and Neil Armstrong? Have you heard of the challenges and

hardships America went through to reach the moon? If you said “yes” to any of those questions,

that means there is only on question left to ask. Have you heard of the woman that made all of

that possible? If not, then you need to do your research because without her, America would

have never made it to the moon. Katherine Johnson was an intelligent and strong individual that

used her math skills to get astronauts to and from space. She is best known for calculating the

flight paths for America’s first mission into space.

On August 26, 1918, Katherine (Coleman) Johnson
…show more content…
Her and her siblings had a pretty good childhood. Despite

living in segregated areas, her parents always encouraged them to get their education and follow

their dreams. Since her hometown didn’t allow African Americans to pass eighth grade, her

parents enrolled her into high school in Institute, West Virginia. She was accepted at the age of

10 and graduated high school at the age of 14. After graduating, Johnson was chosen along with

two other black students to integrate West Virginia State University. She was mentored by other

great mathematicians including, W. W. Schiefflin Claytor. In 1937,Johnson graduated with

highest honors and with degrees in Mathematics and French. Katherine was a precocious student

that took her studies very seriously. In 1939, she married her first husband, James Goble (who

later passed in 1956) and became pregnant. She stopped focusing on school for a while so she

could provide and take care of her family.

Johnson was experienced in various branches of math, but she spent most of her time

contributing to analytic geometry. She was also influential in other subjects such as science,

English and French. In 1953, Johnson was worked as a human computer for NASA along

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