Katherine Johnson was an African-American mathematician who worked for NASA from 1953 to 1986. She was a machine who was human. Johnson was a pioneer in an era when minorities had very few positions in mathematics and science. His work in determining routes to fly spaceships was monumental, helping NASA successfully put an American into orbit around the Earth. Then his work helped land astronauts on the moon. Katherine Johnson was born in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia, in 1918. As a young girl, she loved counting things. He counted everything, from the number of steps he took to the street to the number of forks and plates he washed while preparing the dishes. Johnson grew up with a passion for mathematics. He really wanted to go to school at a young age. Now 90, Johnson vividly remembers watching his older brothers go to school and wishing he could go with them. Once Johnson finally started school, he excelled so much that by age 10 he was in high school. He will start university at the age of 15! Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayJohnson was involved in the mathematics program at West Virginia State College. She liked being surrounded by smart people, she said, and knew all the teachers and students on campus. One of his mathematics professors, the famous Dr. William W. Schiefflin Claytor, recognized Johnson's brilliant and inquisitive mind. “You will become a great mathematician for science,” he told her. (A research mathematician does a lot of things, one of which is solving important math problems.) Claytor then encouraged her to become one. Johnson said, 'Many professors tell you you'd be good at this or that, but that career path doesn't always help. Professor Claytor made sure I was trained to be a research mathematician.' Claytor made sure Johnson took all the math classes she needed to satisfy her passion for life, and also created a course on the geometry of space, just for her. When Johnson graduated from college, he was still segregated from the United States. During this process, “segregation” meant that, in many ways and events, different races were never able to get separated from each other jobs in mathematics and science. It was also very rare for women of any race to hold a degree in mathematics. The only professional job available to Johnson at that time was teaching after graduation she had children and married again after her husband became ill, to support her family. While Johnson was 34, she was applying for a position with the National Advisory Committee of the Air Force, or NACA. NACA was the official name of the agency that later became NASA. The NACA had just begun its work on space research in the early to mid-1950s. The NACA hired women, including African Americans, to become "computers". These female computers measured the engineers' mathematics." When Johnson was 34, he was applying for a position with the Air Force National Advisory Committee, or NACA. As Johnson worked with the other female machines on math problems, she asked questions. He didn't just want to do research: he wanted to know the "how" and the "why", therefore the "why not". Johnson began to distinguish himself by asking questions. Women were not allowed to attend meetings with scientists and.