Join us in celebrating Katherine Johnson’s 98th birthday, the brilliant NASA mathematician and subject of 20th Century Fox film Hidden Figures.
Last week we shared a first look post at the upcoming book and film Hidden Figures, the lesser known story of the African-American scientists behind America’s successes in the 1960s Space Race.
NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson (played by Taraji P. Henson) served as the brains behind one of the greatest space missions in U.S. history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit.
2000 steps. 120 miles. 5 honorary degrees. 4 great-grandchildren. These are some of the numbers that have defined Katherine Johnson’s legacy.
Today is Dr. Johnson’s 98th birthday, which also (quite wonderfully) coincides with Women’s Equality Day, commemorating the ratification of 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote in 1920.
We So Nerdy joins 20th Century Fox and Hidden Figures in wishing the brilliant and trailblazing Katherine G. Johnson a very happy birthday!
You can take part in her birthday celebration by watching the video below to learn more about her inspiring story.
And to honor Dr. Johnson on Women’s Equality Day, for every share of this today (August 26, 2016), Fox will be making a donation to STEM education!
The upcoming book, Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly is out September 6, 2016; pre-order HERE.
Hidden Figures (film) is out in theaters next year on January 13, 2017.
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HIDDEN FIGURES is the incredible untold story of Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe)-brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big.
Release: January 13, 2017
Director: Theodore Melfi
Screenplay by: Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi (writing credits not final), based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly
Producers: Donna Gigliotti, Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping, Pharrell Williams, Theodore Melfi
Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, Glen Powell