Katherine Johnson, computer for NASA

Johnson was part of a group of African American women mathematicians who worked as “computers” during the early days of NASA. Their work made the space program possible, but they have only recently begun to receive proper recognition. 

Some good places to start:

• Lee Shetterly, Margot. Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. First ed. New York, NY: William Morrow, 2016.
• Kera Jones Allen. "Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly (review)." IEEE Annals of the History of Computing 39, no. 3 (2017): 70-71. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/672434 

See Also:

• http://thehumancomputerproject.com/
• https://www.nasa.gov/modernfigures