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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 African-
American physicist and mathematician, was born on Au-
gust 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 Aero-
nautics (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), Kath-
erine Johnson—
(1) calculated the trajectory for the Freedom 7 mis-
sion 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 Divi-
sion;
(3) was asked to verify the calculations of the elec-
tronic 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 Presi-
dential 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 Inde-
pendent Verification and Validation Facility in Fairmont,
West Virginia, after a bipartisan bill authored by Senator
Shelley Moore Capito and Senator Joe Manchin to redes-
ignate 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
Resolved, That the Senate—
1
(1) honors the life of Katherine Coleman Goble
2
Johnson and her achievements as a pioneer, physi-
3
cist, mathematician, and cultural icon;
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(2) extends its heartfelt sympathy to the family
5
of Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson;
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(3) honors and, on behalf of the United States,
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expresses deep appreciation for the outstanding and
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important service of Katherine Coleman Goble John-
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son to the United States; and
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(4) respectfully requests that the Secretary of
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the Senate communicate this resolution to the House
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of Representatives and transmit an enrolled copy of
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this resolution to the family of Katherine Coleman
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Goble Johnson.
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Æ
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