By Katherine Johnson blazed a trail as one of NASA’s pioneering African-American women scientists. Renowned for her mathematical prowess, she left an indelible mark on the field of physics during her tenure with NASA in the United States, serving as a national inspiration and garnering numerous prestigious accolades. Explore inspiring Katherine Johnson Quotes from this remarkable mathematician and physicist.
Born in 1918 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Katherine Johnson began her academic journey in a high school on the West Virginia State College campus. Her passion for mathematics led her to further her education at West Virginia State University, a predominantly African-American institution. There, she became one of the first African-American women to attend graduate school at West Virginia University, where she decided to pursue a career as a research mathematician.
During an era when women were a minority in science, engineering, and technology in the United States, Johnson defied expectations by joining NASA, earning the moniker “human computer.” Her groundbreaking work encompassed diverse research activities, including calculating emergency return paths for Project Mercury spaceflights—a program in which astronaut John Glenn famously participated—and contributing to the Apollo 11 mission.
In a poignant turn of events, Katherine Johnson passed away in February 2020, leaving a legacy of humility and grace. She is survived by her two daughters, following the loss of her eldest daughter in 2010, as well as six grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. Her life and achievements were immortalized in the 2016 film “Hidden Figures,” where Taraji P. Henson portrayed her.
Below, you’ll find a selection of insightful quotes from Katherine Johnson, a renowned mathematician, physicist, and aeronautics expert who played vital roles in both Project Mercury and the Apollo 11 mission for our nation.
Best Katherine Johnson Quotes
1. In math, you’re either right or you’re wrong.
Katherine Johnson
2. Everything is physics and math.
Katherine Johnson
3. I felt most proud on the success of the Apollo mission.
Katherine Johnson
4. Like what you do, and then you will do your best.
Katherine Johnson
5. We were the pioneers of the space era. You had to read Aviation Week to find out what you’d done.
Katherine Johnson
6. If you’re prepared and the opportunity comes up, it’s your good fortune to have been in the right place at the right time and to have been prepared for the job.
Katherine Johnson
7. You lose your curiosity when you stop learning.
Katherine Johnson
8. I always knew how many of everything there were. Things were there and could be counted and accounted for, and so that’s what I did.
Katherine Johnson
9. It’s not every day you wake up with a mission in your mind, but I had a mission and I was determined to accomplish it.
Katherine Johnson
10. I like to learn. That’s an art and a science.
Katherine Johnson
11. I see a picture right now that’s not parallel, so I’m going to go straighten it. Things must be in order.
Katherine Johnson
12. I found what I was looking for at Langley. This was what a research mathematician did. I went to work every day for 33 years happy. Never did I get up and say I don’t want to go to work.
Katherine Johnson
13. I didn’t want anything to happen and it didn’t.
Katherine Johnson
14. You had a mission and you worked on it. And it was important to you to do your job. And play bridge at lunch.
Katherine Johnson
15. I finished the report and my name went on it, and that was the first time a woman in our division had her name on something.
Katherine Johnson
16. If you attack the problem right, you’ll get the answer.
Katherine Johnson
Inspirational Quotes Katherine Johnson Quotes
17. Girls are capable of doing everything men are capable of doing. Sometimes they have more imagination than men.
Katherine Johnson
18. We needed to be assertive as women in those days – assertive and aggressive – and the degree to which we had to be that way depended on where you were.
Katherine Johnson
19. The women did what they were told to do. They didn’t ask questions or take the task any further. I asked questions; I wanted to know why. They got used to me asking questions and being the only woman there.
Katherine Johnson
20. They just said, ‘If she says it’s right, it’s right’ because the guys didn’t do the work. I did it.
Katherine Johnson
21. I don’t have a feeling of inferiority. Never had. I’m as good as anybody, but no better.
Katherine Johnson
22. I counted everything. I counted the steps to the road, the steps up to church, the number of dishes and silverware I washed… anything that could be counted, I did.
Katherine Johnson
23. Go see ‘Hidden Figures,’ and take a young person! It will give a more positive outlook on what is possible if you work hard, do your best, and are prepared.
Katherine Johnson
24. I was excited at something new, always liked something new, but give credit to everybody who helped.
Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson’s Quote and Sayings
25. Take all the courses in your curriculum. Do the research. Ask questions. Find someone doing what you are interested in! Be curious!
Katherine Johnson
26. We will always have STEM with us. Some things will drop out of the public eye and will go away, but there will always be science, engineering, and technology. And there will always, always be mathematics.
Katherine Johnson
27. Everything was so new – the whole idea of going into space was new and daring. There were no textbooks, so we had to write them.
Katherine Johnson
28. Let me do it. You tell me when you want it and where you want it to land, and I’ll do it backwards and tell you when to take off.
Katherine Johnson
29. If you want to know you ask a question. There’s no such thing as a dumb question, it’s dumb if you don’t ask it.
Katherine Johnson
30. I was always around people who were learning something. I liked to learn.
Katherine Johnson
31. Our teachers made such a difference – all my teachers and professors were very supportive and nurturing.
Katherine Johnson
32. Men don’t pay attention to small things.
Katherine Johnson
33. I didn’t do anything alone but try to go to the root of the question and succeeded there.
Katherine Johnson
34. I had a very, very interesting childhood, but, oh my, education was the primary focus in our family.
Katherine Johnson
35. Everybody was concerned about them getting there. We were concerned about them getting back.
Katherine Johnson
36. I was just excited to have challenging work to do and smart people to work with.
Katherine Johnson
37. We always worked as a team. It’s never just one person.
Katherine Johnson
38. Everything was so new – the whole idea of going into space was new and daring. There were no textbooks, so we had to write them.
Katherine Johnson
39. We put in some long hours at times, and I had three children at home. But they were very responsible, and I had family and friends who helped look after them.
Katherine Johnson
40. I like to work problems. If you do your best, nobody can ask you to do it over again. I never had to repeat what I did.
Katherine Johnson
41. There’s nothing to it; I was just doing my job.
Katherine Johnson
42. All jobs are important to somebody. They had to be important to somebody. My theory is, do the best you can all the time. No fooling around.
Katherine Johnson
43. Once you took the first step, anything was possible.
Katherine Johnson
44. Our teachers made such a difference – all my teachers and professors were very supportive and nurturing.
Katherine Johnson
45. I’m just lucky — the Lord likes me and I like him.
Katherine Johnson
46. You should always be interested in something.
Katherine Johnson
47. Many professors tell you that you’d be good at this or that, but they don’t always help you with that career path.
Katherine Johnson
48. Know how to learn. Then, want to learn.
Katherine Johnson
49. I was excited at something new, always liked something new, but give credit to everybody who helped. I didn’t do anything alone but try to go to the root of the question and succeeded there.
Katherine Johnson
50. I entered college; I was 15. I was going to be a math teacher because that was it. You could be a math teacher or a nurse, but I was told I would make a good research mathematician and they had me take all of the courses in the catalog.
Katherine Johnson
