American mathematician and computer programmer who worked at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and its successor NASA. In 1949 she was assigned acting head of the West Area Computers, becoming NACA's first Black supervisor and one of its few female supervisors, leading a group made up entirely of African-American women mathematicians. As electronic computers arrived in the early 1960s, she taught herself and her staff the FORTRAN programming language to prepare them for the transition. Her career and that of colleagues including Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson was told in the book and film Hidden Figures.
Facts
Defining ContributionNACA's first Black supervisor, leading the West Area Computers; taught herself and her staff FORTRAN to prepare for the arrival of electronic computers at NASA. 1 Connections
Associated With
Colleagues in NACA/NASA Langley's segregated West Area Computers group; their story, with Mary Jackson's, was told in Hidden Figures.
Mary Jackson, Pioneers Colleagues at NACA/NASA Langley; their careers, with Katherine Johnson's, were told together in Hidden Figures.
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Sources
1. Wikipedia (space and spaceflight articles)
Wikimedia FoundationDorothy Vaughan (Wikipedia) - lead summaryQuote, Dorothy Vaughan (Wikipedia) - lead summary
In 1949, Vaughan was assigned as the acting head of the West Area Computers, taking over from a woman who had died. She was the first Black supervisor at NACA and one of few female supervisors, leading a group composed entirely of African-American women.
2. Dorothy Vaughan (Wikipedia)
Lead paragraph
Dorothy Jean Johnson Vaughan (September 20, 1910, November 10, 2008) was an American mathematician, human computer, computer programmer and schoolteacher who worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and NASA, at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
Dorothy Vaughan (Wikipedia) - birth date
September 20, 1910
Dorothy Vaughan (Wikipedia) - death date
November 10, 2008
Dorothy Vaughan (Wikipedia) - FORTRAN
During her 28-year career, Vaughan prepared for the introduction of computers in the early 1960s by teaching herself and her staff the Fortran programming language.
Dorothy Vaughan (Wikipedia) - nationality
American
In Group: Human Computers, Mathematicians and Software Pioneers, Lead sentence
Dorothy Jean Johnson Vaughan (September 20, 1910, November 10, 2008) was an American mathematician, human computer, computer programmer and schoolteacher who worked for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), and NASA, at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
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