West Virginia University Notable Alumni

Birthdate: August 26, 1918

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, United States

Died: February 24, 2020

Katherine Johnson was a physicist and mathematician, remembered as the first African-American female NASA scientist. Her calculations helped launch the space missions of Alan Shepard and John Glenn. She was crucial to the Apollo program and won a Congressional Gold Medal and a Presidential Medal of Freedom for her achievements.