III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 519 

Honoring the life and achievements of Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 27, 2020 

Mr. MANCHIN (for himself, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. WARNER, and Mr. KAINE) 

submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life and achievements of Katherine Coleman 

Goble Johnson. 

Whereas Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson, an AfricanAmerican physicist and mathematician, was born on August 26, 1918, in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia; 

Whereas, in 1937, Katherine Johnson graduated from West 

Virginia State College, doing so with highest honors at 

age 18; 

Whereas Katherine Johnson and 2 other students were the 

first African Americans to be admitted to graduate school 

at West Virginia University; 

Whereas, in 1953, Katherine Johnson began her career in 

aeronautics as a computer in the segregated West Area 

Computing unit at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical 


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•SRES 519 ATS 

Laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA); 

Whereas, as a member of the Flight Research Division at 

NACA, Katherine Johnson analyzed data from flight 

tests; 

Whereas, after NACA was incorporated into the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Katherine Johnson— 

(1) calculated the trajectory for the Freedom 7 mission crewed by Alan Shepard in 1961, which was the first 

human spaceflight by an individual from the United 

States; 

(2) co-authored a report that provided the equations 

for describing orbital spaceflight with a specified landing 

point, which made her the first woman to be recognized 

as an author of a report from the Flight Research Division; 

(3) was asked to verify the calculations of the electronic computers at NASA that were used to calculate 

the orbit for the Friendship 7 mission crewed by John 

Glenn; and 

(4) provided calculations for NASA throughout her 

career, including for the Apollo missions; 

Whereas Katherine Johnson broke the barriers of race and 

gender by completing groundbreaking work at NASA; 

Whereas, in 1986, Katherine Johnson retired from NASA; 

Whereas, in 2015, Katherine Johnson received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama 

at age 97; 


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•SRES 519 ATS 

Whereas, in 2017, NASA dedicated a building in honor of 

Katherine Johnson at Langley Research Center in 

Hampton, Virginia; 

Whereas NASA dedicated the Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation Facility in Fairmont, 

West Virginia, after a bipartisan bill authored by Senator 

Shelley Moore Capito and Senator Joe Manchin to redesignate the facility was signed into law in 2018; and 

Whereas, on February 24, 2020, Katherine Johnson passed 

away at 101 years of age: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) honors the life of Katherine Coleman Goble 

3 Johnson and her achievements as a pioneer, physi4 cist, mathematician, and cultural icon; 

5 (2) extends its heartfelt sympathy to the family 

6 of Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson; 

7 (3) honors and, on behalf of the United States, 

8 expresses deep appreciation for the outstanding and 

9 important service of Katherine Coleman Goble John10 son to the United States; and 

11 (4) respectfully requests that the Secretary of 

12 the Senate communicate this resolution to the House 

13 of Representatives and transmit an enrolled copy of 

14 this resolution to the family of Katherine Coleman 

15 Goble Johnson. 

Æ 


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