[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 46 (Tuesday, March 10, 2020)]
[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.

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