Who Was Katherine Johnson?

Who Was Katherine Johnson?

Read all about how a young Black girl who loved numbers grew into a brilliant mathematician who helped land the first person on the moon in this inspiring addition to the Who Was? series. From a very young age, Katherine Johnson counted everything—the number of dirty dishes she'd washed, the steps she walked to church, and even the number of leaves on the trees. By 1928, she was so intelligent and skilled at math that she was able to skip several grades and start high school at age ten! And while Katherine had to deal with racism, segregation, and prejudice throughout her life, she did not let this hold her back from becoming a mathematician. In 1953, she started working as a "human computer" at America's space agency, now known as NASA. Katherine calculated complex equations by hand, and these calculations helped astronauts travel safely into space. She was a part of many important missions, including the Apollo 11 mission that put the first person on the moon. Katherine Johnson broke barriers and became a trailblazer for women and people of color in the fields of math and science, and her story in this illustrated biography shows young readers that with hard work and determination, anyone can reach for the stars! Shelia P. Moses (she/her) is a poet, award-winning author, playwright, and producer. She has written several books for young readers, including The Legend of Buddy Bush ; I, Dred Scott: A Fictional Slave Narrative Based on the Life and Legal Precedent of Dred Scott; The Baptism; and Who Is Stacey Abrams? She lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Who Was Katherine Johnson? On July 20, 1969, like millions of other Americans, Katherine Johnson was excitedly staring at a television screen. But she wasn’t just any viewer—she was a brilliant mathematician who played a key role in what was about to happen. Katherine worked at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the place where space missions are planned. Astronaut Neil Armstrong and his crew had launched into space several days before and were heading for the moon. Katherine and her colleagues had done tons of calculations to ensure the mission would be a success. If everything went correctly, the United States would be the first country to put a person on the moon! As the rocket roared into the sky, Katherine hurried to join her sorority sisters from Alpha Kappa Alpha who were gathered at a hotel in the Poconos, Pennsylvania, for a convention. When the lunar module, called the Eagle, landed on the moon, everyone held their breath. Then, over the speakers, they heard Neil say, “The Eagle has landed.” The room instantly became filled with cheers and happy screams. Katherine and her sorority sisters couldn’t believe it—they had just witnessed history! At 10:56 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time, the time zone that covers the eastern part of the United States, Canada, and parts of the Caribbean and Central America), the whole world watched as Neil took his first steps on the moon, saying, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Katherine knew that behind that giant leap was a lot of hard work from Black mathematicians like her. Katherine wasn’t just proud of the moon landing. She was proud of her part in it. She once said, “We were the pioneers of the space era,” and pointed out that “everything is physics and math,” reminding future scientists that the universe is full of numbers just waiting to be discovered. After the mission, the news of this incredible achievement spread across the nation and the world. On July 24, 1969, at 12:50 p.m. EST, Neil and his fellow astronauts splashed down safely into the Pacific Ocean, not far from Honolulu, Hawaii. They were back home, and so was Katherine, both eventually becoming celebrated as American heroes. Chapter 1 A Curious Childhood Katherine Coleman was born to Joylette Roberta Lowe and Joshua Coleman. Joylette, who grew up in Danville, Virginia, suffered from serious allergies as a young girl, so at age eighteen, she moved to White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. She hoped the new city would bring great job opportunities and cleaner air. Not only did she find a job as a schoolteacher, but she also met a tall, handsome man named Joshua Coleman. Joshua—who always wore a stylish Stetson hat—got a lot of attention from the women in town, who thought he was a good catch, but he only had eyes for Joylette. They dated for a few years and got married in 1909. The young couple moved into Joshua’s log cabin on the farm he had inherited, just seven miles outside White Sulphur Springs in an area called Dutch Run. Joylette loved teaching, but she stopped in 1912 when she gave birth to their first child, a son named Horace. Two years later, they had their first daughter, Margaret, followed by another son, Charlie. Katherine, who was born in 1918, would be the couple’s last child. Joshua was a great provider who worked as a farmer and horseman, and he could build anything