[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 519 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 519

 Honoring the life and achievements of Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 27, 2020

   Mr. Manchin (for himself, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Warner, and Mr. Kaine) 
 submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Honoring the life and achievements of Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson.

Whereas Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson, an African-American physicist and 
        mathematician, was born on August 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, 
        West Virginia;
Whereas, in 1937, Katherine Johnson graduated from West Virginia State College, 
        doing so with highest honors at age 18;
Whereas Katherine Johnson and 2 other students were the first African Americans 
        to be admitted to graduate school at West Virginia University;
Whereas, in 1953, Katherine Johnson began her career in aeronautics as a 
        computer in the segregated West Area Computing unit at the Langley 
        Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for 
        Aeronautics (NACA);
Whereas, as a member of the Flight Research Division at NACA, Katherine Johnson 
        analyzed data from flight tests;
Whereas, after NACA was incorporated into the National Aeronautics and Space 
        Administration (NASA), Katherine Johnson--

    (1) calculated the trajectory for the Freedom 7 mission crewed by Alan 
Shepard in 1961, which was the first human spaceflight by an individual 
from the United States;

    (2) co-authored a report that provided the equations for describing 
orbital spaceflight with a specified landing point, which made her the 
first woman to be recognized as an author of a report from the Flight 
Research Division;

    (3) was asked to verify the calculations of the electronic computers at 
NASA that were used to calculate the orbit for the Friendship 7 mission 
crewed by John Glenn; and

    (4) provided calculations for NASA throughout her career, including for 
the Apollo missions;

Whereas Katherine Johnson broke the barriers of race and gender by completing 
        groundbreaking work at NASA;
Whereas, in 1986, Katherine Johnson retired from NASA;
Whereas, in 2015, Katherine Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom 
        from President Barack Obama at age 97;
Whereas, in 2017, NASA dedicated a building in honor of Katherine Johnson at 
        Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia;
Whereas NASA dedicated the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and 
        Validation Facility in Fairmont, West Virginia, after a bipartisan bill 
        authored by Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Senator Joe Manchin to 
        redesignate the facility was signed into law in 2018; and
Whereas, on February 24, 2020, Katherine Johnson passed away at 101 years of 
        age: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) honors the life of Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson and 
        her achievements as a pioneer, physicist, mathematician, and 
        cultural icon;
            (2) extends its heartfelt sympathy to the family of 
        Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson;
            (3) honors and, on behalf of the United States, expresses 
        deep appreciation for the outstanding and important service of 
        Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson to the United States; and
            (4) respectfully requests that the Secretary of the Senate 
        communicate this resolution to the House of Representatives and 
        transmit an enrolled copy of this resolution to the family of 
        Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson.
                                 <all>