By Leah Tuckwiller
Katherine Coleman Gobel Johnson, an incredible woman and instrumental figure at NASA, passed away on Monday, February 24. A native of White Sulphur Springs, Johnson performed mathematical calculations that helped put the first Americans in space. Born on August 26, 1918, she was 101 when she died.
Johnson was a highly lauded figure in the history of NASA, particularly after her retirement and following the release of author Margot Lee Shetterly’s book “Hidden Figures” and the 2016 film of the same name. Johnson, along with coworkers Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and many other black women in NASA’s West Computing Group, were instrumental in ensuring American space flights.
Read more in the Tuesday, February 25, 2020, edition of The West Virginia Daily News.
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