Katherine Johnson

Today I'm going to point you to katherinejohnson.net, where you can read about Katherine Johnson, the mathematician and computer scientist who broke barriers for women and African Americans while advancing science, mathematics and space exploration. Be sure to read as many articles in the PRESS and ARTICLE LINKS as you can (some of them are behind paywalls). More information is also available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Johnson, along with its References and Further Reading.

A woman and a mathematician, I had never heard of Katherine Johnson until I saw the movie Hidden Figures. Then I made it my business to find out as much about her as I could learn. I never had the opportunity to meet Katherine myself, of course, but I am only two degrees of separation from her. When my friend Imara Dawson was young, Katherine was his math tutor. (Imara is also how I can claim two degrees of separation from the late Maya Angelou, who was a friend of his family. When his grandmother passed, Ms. Angelou brought the biscuits to the wake.)