Katherine Johnson, a mathematician, computer science and physicist from the United States, African American and originally from Virginia, died at 101, who contributed with her calculations to launch the race in space working for NASA. His story was told in the 2016 film The Right to Count (Hidden Figures the original title - THE CARD ANSA CINEMA ). In 2015, the then President of the United States, Barack Obama, awarded her with the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States.
Katherine Johnson (source: NASA)