Hidden Figures (2016) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Katherine Johnson was required to use the segregated restroom designated for African-American employees, which was located half a mile from the Space Task Group's workspace. This was due to the racial segregation policies at Langley Research Center in 1961, which forced Black employees to walk long distances to access separate facilities. When Al Harrison confronted her about taking frequent breaks, she explained this daily discrimination, leading Harrison to remove the "colored" restroom signage.

• katherine johnson
• segregated restroom
• langley research center
• discrimination
• al harrison

Katherine Johnson was added to Al Harrison's Space Task Group because of her exceptional skills in analytic geometry. Her mathematical abilities caught Harrison's attention, making her the first Black woman assigned to the team. Despite skepticism from colleagues like Paul Stafford, her talent proved essential for performing the complex calculations needed for NASA's early space missions.

• katherine johnson
• space task group
• al harrison
• analytic geometry
• NASA calculations

After confronting Katherine Johnson about her frequent breaks, Harrison learned about the daily discrimination she faced, including having to walk half a mile to use the restroom designated for African-Americans. Moved by her heartfelt explanation, Harrison took the bold step of removing the "colored" restroom signs, eliminating segregation from the workspace and signaling his support for Katherine.

• al harrison
• segregated restrooms
• langley research center
• katherine johnson
• segregation

Mary Jackson needed to complete additional engineering coursework to qualify for a NASA engineering position. Since her previous education was not recognized by NASA's standards, she petitioned to attend all-white night classes at Hampton High School to earn the credentials required. She convinced a local judge to grant permission by appealing to his sense of justice and historical responsibility.

• mary jackson
• night classes
• hampton high school
• engineering degree
• NASA career

Dorothy Vaughan recognized that the IBM 7090 electronic computer threatened to replace human computers at NASA. To protect her team from becoming obsolete, she secretly learned Fortran programming and taught these skills to her fellow West Area coworkers. This proactive approach helped secure her team's future and eventually led to her becoming NASA's first African-American supervisor.

• dorothy vaughn
• IBM 7090
• fortran programming
• human computers
• NASA technology

When discrepancies arose in the IBM 7090's calculations for John Glenn's orbital flight, Katherine Johnson's precise mathematical skills proved invaluable. She was moved from the Programming Department to support the Friendship 7 mission, where she verified the calculations and provided critical data that ensured the capsule's safe re-entry, ultimately helping the mission succeed.

• katherine johnson
• john glenn
• friendship 7
• IBM calculations
• orbital mission

Paul Stafford, an engineer on the Space Task Group, represented the systemic racism and sexism of the era. He insisted that "computers" could not draft reports and attempted to claim Katherine Johnson's mathematical contributions as his own. This was a reflection of the broader discrimination faced by Black women at NASA, where their work was often overlooked or appropriated by white male colleagues.

• paul stafford
• katherine johnson
• racism
• nasa discrimination
• workplace prejudice

Katherine Johnson demonstrated her exceptional value by solving a complex equation lifted from redacted documents that other engineers could not complete. This impressive display of analytical geometry skills convinced Al Harrison of her indispensable worth to the team, particularly as the Space Race against the Soviet Union intensified following Yuri Gagarin's successful orbital flight.

• katherine johnson
• al harrison
• redacted documents
• analytic geometry
• space race

After Al Harrison removed the segregated restroom signs in response to Katherine Johnson's explanation of her daily discrimination, he began including her in critical meetings previously reserved for senior engineers. This symbolized a significant advancement in her recognition and role within the Space Task Group, allowing her to contribute to crucial calculations for the space capsule's re-entry point.

• katherine johnson
• al harrison
• high-stakes meetings
• re-entry calculations
• NASA space mission

The three women each broke significant barriers: Mary Jackson became NASA's first African-American female engineer after earning her engineering degree; Dorothy Vaughan became NASA's first African-American supervisor, leading the Programming Department; Katherine Johnson co-authored crucial reports and calculated trajectories for Apollo 11 and Space Shuttle missions, receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. In 2016, NASA honored her by naming a computational building at Langley after her.

• katherine johnson
• dorothy vaughn
• mary jackson
• legacy
• presidential medal of freedom
• NASA engineer