Mary Winston Jackson (1921–2005)

Mary Winston Jackson was an American mathematician and aerospace engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which would later become the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Jackson was born on April 9, 1921, in Hampton, Virginia, to Ella and Frank Winston. She … Read MoreMary Winston Jackson (1921–2005)

Dorothy Johnson Vaughan (1910-2008)

Dorothy Johnson Vaughan was a teacher who became a leading mathematical engineer in the first aerospace program with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and the first African American woman promoted to supervisor in the program. Vaughan was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on … Read MoreDorothy Johnson Vaughan (1910-2008)

Katherine Goble Johnson (1918-2020)

Katherine Goble Johnson, heralded as the first African American woman in Aerospace Engineering, was born on August 26, 1918, in White Sulfur Springs, West Virginia, a city where schooling for “colored” people ended with the eighth grade. In 1937, she graduated summa cum laude (with … Read MoreKatherine Goble Johnson (1918-2020)

Preston Taylor (1849–1931)

“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Preston Taylor was an African American businessman, minister, and philanthropist, who, by the early twentieth century, was considered one of the most influential leaders of Nashville, Tennessee’s black community. Taylor created Greenwood Cemetery, the second oldest African American cemetery in Nashville, … Read MorePreston Taylor (1849–1931)