Latest News, Photos

Presidential Medal of Freedom goes to WV native

Charleston Gazette-Mail photo by The Associated Press President Barack Obama awards NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Tuesday during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House in Washington. Johnson’s calculations influenced every major space program, including the flight of the first American into space.
Charleston Gazette-Mail photo by The Associated Press
President Barack Obama awards NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Tuesday during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House in Washington. Johnson’s calculations influenced every major space program, including the flight of the first American into space.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Katherine Johnson, a native of White Sulphur Springs and a pioneer in the American space program, received the United States’ highest civilian honor on Tuesday.

Johnson was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for a 33-year career as a NASA mathematician in which she played a key role in some of the most historic space flights of all time.

In the East Room of the White House on Tuesday, with President Barack Obama looking on, Johnson sat next to Willie Mays, as the citation for her Medal of Freedom was read.

“With her razor-sharp mathematical mind, Katherine G. Johnson helped broaden the scope of space travel, charting new frontiers for humanity’s explorations of space and creating new possibilities for all humankind,” the citation read. “From sending the first American to space, to the first moon landing, she played a critical role in many of NASA’s most important milestones. Katherine G. Johnson refused to be limited by society’s expectations of her gender and race, while expanding the boundaries of humanity’s reach.”

Johnson was one of 17 Americans awarded the Medal of Freedom on Tuesday, alongside people like Mays; Steven Spielberg, James Taylor, Sen. Barbara Mikulski, the longest-serving woman in Congressional history, and Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman elected to Congress…

Comments are closed.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

And get our latest content in your inbox

Invalid email address