Hidden Heroes: The Human Computers of NASA

Hidden Heroes: The Human Computers of NASA — page 5
Glenn told one of his supervisors Get the girl to do it The girl he was referring to was human computer PERSPECTIVES KATHERINE JOHNSON Katherine Johnson was born in White Sulphur Springs West Virginia in 1918 She remembered loving numbers as a child I counted the steps to the road the steps up to church Anything that could be counted I did White Sulphur Springs only allowed African Americans to go to school up the eighth grade Johnson’s father moved the family to a town 125 miles 200 km away where Johnson could attend high school After high school Johnson studied math at West Virginia State College Johnson taught public school and started a family before becoming a human computer in 1953 Katherine Johnson Glenn knew she was one of NASA’s top mathematical minds The United States was fighting the Soviet Union to be the best in the world A rivalry had emerged between the two countries after World War II 1939 1945 This rivalry was called the Cold War 1947 1991 The two superpowers were battling to outdo each other in every area That included