Katherine Johnson age, family, husband, children, NASA

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<h2>Early Life and Education</h2>
<p><a href="/biography/katherine-johnson">Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson</a> was born on August 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. A gifted student from an early age, she excelled academically and entered high school by the age of thirteen. The high school was located on the campus of West Virginia State College, a historically Black institution, where she later attended college and continued to thrive in mathematics and science.</p>

<p>In 1939, she was selected as one of three Black students to integrate West Virginia University's graduate program, a pivotal step both in her career and in the broader civil rights movement. Her participation broke barriers and contributed to desegregation efforts in higher education, allowing her to further hone the skills that would later prove essential to U.S. space exploration.</p>

<h2>Career at NASA and Contributions to Spaceflight</h2>
<p>Katherine Johnson is best known for her role as a pioneering <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans">African-American</a> mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics were critical to the success of early NASA missions. Her work included trajectory analysis for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Shepard">Alan Shepard</a>’s 1961 suborbital flight and verifying calculations for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Glenn">John Glenn</a>’s 1962 orbital mission. Johnson's precision and expertise in analytical geometry made her an indispensable figure at NASA during the Space Race.</p>

<p>Her contributions helped secure continued support and funding for NASA during a vital era. Her career not only advanced American space exploration but also helped pave the way for the inclusion of women and minorities in science and technology fields.</p>

<h2>Marriage and Family Life</h2>
<p>Katherine Johnson was married twice. Her first marriage was to James Goble in 1939. The couple had three daughters: Joylette, Katherine, and Constance. After James Goble’s death in 1956, she later married James A. Johnson, a U.S. Army officer, in 1959. They remained married until his death in 2019.</p>

<p>Family was an important aspect of Katherine's life, and she balanced her duties as a mother with her groundbreaking career. Her personal experiences often informed her advocacy for education and equal opportunities.</p>

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<h2>Where Did Katherine Johnson Live?</h2>
<p>Katherine Johnson lived in Hampton, Virginia, where she was based during much of her career with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which later became NASA. She spent decades in the Hampton Roads area, contributing to vital aerospace research while raising her family.</p>

<h2>Legacy</h2>
<p>Katherine Johnson's legacy lives on in both scientific achievement and social progress. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015 and was portrayed in the 2016 film <i>Hidden Figures</i>, which highlighted the essential roles she and her fellow <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Americans">African-American</a> female mathematicians played at NASA.</p>

<p>Her story continues to inspire generations of students, particularly young women and students of color, to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Johnson passed away on February 24, 2020, leaving behind a powerful legacy of brilliance, resilience, and integrity.</p>

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