Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E291]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HONORING THE LIFE OF KATHERINE JOHNSON
______
HON. TERRI A. SEWELL
of alabama
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the late
Katherine Johnson, one of the first African American women ever to work
at NASA, whose brilliant mind and countless contributions helped to
make both flight in space and our space center in Huntsville, Alabama,
possible.
Mrs. Johnson spent thirty-five years at NASA, during which time she
used her remarkable mind to master even the most complex manual
calculations and helped to pioneer the early use of computers. Her work
was instrumental to launching Alan Shepard, the first American in space
and John Glenn, the first American in orbit. Mrs. Johnson worked at
NASA during a time when African American women were largely banned from
taking advantage of such career opportunities, however, her grit,
determination and indubitable brilliance helped her to persist, tearing
down barriers for African Americans and for women.
At eighteen, Mrs. Johnson enrolled at the historically black West
Virginia State College, where she found a mentor in math professor W.
W. Schieffelin Claytor, the third African American to earn a PhD in
mathematics. She graduated with highest honors in 1937 and took a job
teaching at an African American public school in Virginia.
In 1939, West Virginia State's president, Dr. John W. Davis, selected
Mrs. Johnson and two other African American men to be the first black
students to attend West Virginia University, which was historically
white. Mrs. Johnson resigned from her teaching job and enrolled in the
graduate math program to become a full-time student. She did not
complete her degree, deciding instead to leave school to start a family
with her first husband, James Goble. She returned to teaching when her
children got older.
In 1952, a relative told Mrs. Johnson about a job opportunity at the
all-black West Area Computing section at the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics' (NACA's) Langley laboratory. Mrs. Johnson
and her husband decided to move the family to Newport News, Virginia,
to pursue the opportunity, and Katherine began work at Langley in the
summer of 1953. Just two weeks into her tenure in the office, she was
assigned to a project in the Maneuver Loads Branch of the Flight
Research Division. She spent the next four years analyzing data from
flight tests and worked on the investigation of a plane crash caused by
wake turbulence. Just as she was completing this work, her husband died
of cancer in December 1956.
In 1957, Russia launched Sputnik, the first successful satellite to
be launched into space, and the United States immediately began efforts
to beat Russia and become the first country to put a man into space.
Mrs. Johnson was selected to provide math for ``Notes on Space
Technology,'' a collection formed by NACA engineers who became part of
NASA when that agency was formed in 1958.
Mrs. Johnson went on to do the trajectory analysis for America's
first human space flight by astronaut Alan Shepard in 1961. She worked
closely with Ted Skopinksi, a male engineer, to co-author
``Determination of Azimuth Angle at Burnout for Place a Satellite Over
a Selected Earth Position,'' a report on the equations for an orbital
spaceflight with a landing site target. It was the first time a woman
in NASA's Flight Research Division received credit for authoring a
research report.
In 1962, John Glenn was preparing for his orbital flight and was
hesitant to trust the new computers' calculation of his orbital
trajectory. He relied on Mrs. Johnson to cite her calculations on
syncing the Apollo Lunar Model with the orbiting Command and Service
Module. This was known as Mrs. Johnson's greatest contribution. After
this successful event, she authored and co-authored 26 research reports
before retiring in 1986. Mrs. Johnson was then awarded the Presidential
Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, and played by Taraji P.
Henson in the movie ``Hidden Figures'' about NASA's black women
pioneers.
Mrs. Johnson fought through discrimination and adversity, proving to
America and to the entire world not only that African Americans were
just as capable as white Americans, but that women were just as capable
as men. In many ways, she displayed even more patriotism, as she
overcame adversity in order to serve her country. Katherine Johnson's
legacy is one that should make the state of Alabama truly proud. She is
a part of Alabama's remarkable legacy of advocating for civil rights,
proving that the determination of African American women can charge the
course of history, not only for our country but for the entire world.
Madam Speaker, on behalf of Alabama's 7th Congressional District, I
ask you and my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to the exemplary
service of Katherine Johnson. May we celebrate her resilience and
sacrifice every day.
____________________
