MATHEMATICIAN
Katherine Johnson
1918 - 2020
Katherine Johnson
Creola Katherine Johnson (née Coleman; August 26, 1918 – February 24, 2020) was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. During her 33-year career at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform the tasks. Read more on Wikipedia
Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Katherine Johnson has received more than 13,655,908 page views. Her biography is available in 57 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 49 in 2019). Katherine Johnson is the 88th most popular mathematician (down from 72nd in 2019), the 513th most popular biography from United States (down from 434th in 2019) and the 5th most popular American Mathematician.
Katherine Johnson is most famous for being one of the three African-American women who helped NASA launch John Glenn into space in 1962.
Memorability Metrics
14M
Page Views (PV)
66.69
Historical Popularity Index (HPI)
57
Languages Editions (L)
4.76
Effective Languages (L*)
4.57
Coefficient of Variation (CV)
Among MATHEMATICIANS
Among mathematicians, Katherine Johnson ranks 88 out of 1,004. Before her are Pappus of Alexandria, Stefan Banach, Felix Klein, Ctesibius, Alexander Friedmann, and Stanislaw Ulam. After her are Paul Erdős, Lars Ahlfors, Adrien-Marie Legendre, G. H. Hardy, Siméon Denis Poisson, and Leopold Kronecker.
Most Popular Mathematicians in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsPappus of Alexandria
290 - 350
HPI: 67.14
Rank: 82
Stefan Banach
1892 - 1945
HPI: 67.10
Rank: 83
Felix Klein
1849 - 1925
HPI: 67.10
Rank: 84
Ctesibius
284 BC - 221 BC
HPI: 67.01
Rank: 85
Alexander Friedmann
1888 - 1925
HPI: 66.99
Rank: 86
Stanislaw Ulam
1909 - 1984
HPI: 66.95
Rank: 87
Katherine Johnson
1918 - 2020
HPI: 66.69
Rank: 88
Paul Erdős
1913 - 1996
HPI: 66.63
Rank: 89
Lars Ahlfors
1907 - 1996
HPI: 66.45
Rank: 90
Adrien-Marie Legendre
1752 - 1833
HPI: 66.44
Rank: 91
G. H. Hardy
1877 - 1947
HPI: 66.37
Rank: 92
Siméon Denis Poisson
1781 - 1840
HPI: 66.28
Rank: 93
Leopold Kronecker
1823 - 1891
HPI: 66.26
Rank: 94
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1918, Katherine Johnson ranks 20. Before her are Ken Miles, Gertrude B. Elion, Alberto Ascari, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Frederick Sanger, and Chaim Herzog. After her are William Holden, Martin Ryle, Jørn Utzon, Kai Siegbahn, Billy Graham, and Muriel Spark. Among people deceased in 2020, Katherine Johnson ranks 18. Before her are Max von Sydow, Olivia de Havilland, Paolo Rossi, Michel Piccoli, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. After her are Albert Uderzo, Ian Holm, Stanley Cohen, Tabaré Vázquez, Rob Rensenbrink, and Robert Hossein.
Others Born in 1918
Go to all RankingsKen Miles
RACING DRIVER
1918 - 1966
HPI: 69.25
Rank: 14
Gertrude B. Elion
CHEMIST
1918 - 1999
HPI: 68.95
Rank: 15
Alberto Ascari
RACING DRIVER
1918 - 1955
HPI: 68.40
Rank: 16
Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
POLITICIAN
1918 - 2004
HPI: 68.31
Rank: 17
Frederick Sanger
CHEMIST
1918 - 2013
HPI: 67.89
Rank: 18
Chaim Herzog
DIPLOMAT
1918 - 1997
HPI: 67.04
Rank: 19
Katherine Johnson
MATHEMATICIAN
1918 - 2020
HPI: 66.69
Rank: 20
William Holden
ACTOR
1918 - 1981
HPI: 66.68
Rank: 21
Martin Ryle
ASTRONOMER
1918 - 1984
HPI: 66.46
Rank: 22
Jørn Utzon
ARCHITECT
1918 - 2008
HPI: 65.82
Rank: 23
Kai Siegbahn
PHYSICIST
1918 - 2007
HPI: 65.68
Rank: 24
Billy Graham
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1918 - 2018
HPI: 65.05
Rank: 25
Muriel Spark
WRITER
1918 - 2006
HPI: 65.00
Rank: 26
Others Deceased in 2020
Go to all RankingsMax von Sydow
ACTOR
1929 - 2020
HPI: 68.88
Rank: 12
Olivia de Havilland
ACTOR
1916 - 2020
HPI: 68.33
Rank: 13
Paolo Rossi
SOCCER PLAYER
1956 - 2020
HPI: 67.94
Rank: 14
Michel Piccoli
ACTOR
1925 - 2020
HPI: 67.43
Rank: 15
Krzysztof Penderecki
COMPOSER
1933 - 2020
HPI: 67.32
Rank: 16
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
POLITICIAN
1929 - 2020
HPI: 66.95
Rank: 17
Katherine Johnson
MATHEMATICIAN
1918 - 2020
HPI: 66.69
Rank: 18
Albert Uderzo
COMIC ARTIST
1927 - 2020
HPI: 66.50
Rank: 19
Ian Holm
ACTOR
1931 - 2020
HPI: 66.09
Rank: 20
Stanley Cohen
PHYSICIAN
1922 - 2020
HPI: 66.02
Rank: 21
Tabaré Vázquez
POLITICIAN
1940 - 2020
HPI: 65.66
Rank: 22
Rob Rensenbrink
SOCCER PLAYER
1947 - 2020
HPI: 65.65
Rank: 23
Robert Hossein
ACTOR
1927 - 2020
HPI: 65.43
Rank: 24
In United States
Among people born in United States, Katherine Johnson ranks 513 out of 20,380. Before her are Donald A. Glaser (1926), Kathy Bates (1948), Michael Landon (1936), Glenn Close (1947), Demi Moore (1962), and Liza Minnelli (1946). After her are William P. Murphy (1892), Kurt Russell (1951), Robert A. Heinlein (1907), Irving Langmuir (1881), William Holden (1918), and Paul Simon (1941).
Others born in United States
Go to all RankingsDonald A. Glaser
PHYSICIST
1926 - 2013
HPI: 66.79
Rank: 507
Kathy Bates
ACTOR
1948 - Present
HPI: 66.78
Rank: 508
Michael Landon
ACTOR
1936 - 1991
HPI: 66.76
Rank: 509
Glenn Close
ACTOR
1947 - Present
HPI: 66.75
Rank: 510
Demi Moore
ACTOR
1962 - Present
HPI: 66.73
Rank: 511
Liza Minnelli
ACTOR
1946 - Present
HPI: 66.70
Rank: 512
Katherine Johnson
MATHEMATICIAN
1918 - 2020
HPI: 66.69
Rank: 513
William P. Murphy
PHYSICIAN
1892 - 1987
HPI: 66.69
Rank: 514
Kurt Russell
ACTOR
1951 - Present
HPI: 66.68
Rank: 515
Robert A. Heinlein
WRITER
1907 - 1988
HPI: 66.68
Rank: 516
Irving Langmuir
CHEMIST
1881 - 1957
HPI: 66.68
Rank: 517
William Holden
ACTOR
1918 - 1981
HPI: 66.68
Rank: 518
Paul Simon
MUSICIAN
1941 - Present
HPI: 66.66
Rank: 519
Among MATHEMATICIANS In United States
Among mathematicians born in United States, Katherine Johnson ranks 5. Before her are John Forbes Nash Jr. (1928), Charles Sanders Peirce (1839), Norbert Wiener (1894), and Claude Shannon (1916). After her are Herbert A. Hauptman (1917), Mary Jackson (1921), Edward Norton Lorenz (1917), Alonzo Church (1903), Jesse Douglas (1897), Karen Uhlenbeck (1942), and Paul Cohen (1934).
John Forbes Nash Jr.
1928 - 2015
HPI: 75.17
Rank: 1
Charles Sanders Peirce
1839 - 1914
HPI: 70.88
Rank: 2
Norbert Wiener
1894 - 1964
HPI: 69.47
Rank: 3
Claude Shannon
1916 - 2001
HPI: 69.38
Rank: 4
Katherine Johnson
1918 - 2020
HPI: 66.69
Rank: 5
Herbert A. Hauptman
1917 - 2011
HPI: 63.30
Rank: 6
Mary Jackson
1921 - 2005
HPI: 62.45
Rank: 7
Edward Norton Lorenz
1917 - 2008
HPI: 62.33
Rank: 8
Alonzo Church
1903 - 1995
HPI: 61.60
Rank: 9
Jesse Douglas
1897 - 1965
HPI: 57.54
Rank: 10
Karen Uhlenbeck
1942 - Present
HPI: 57.37
Rank: 11
Paul Cohen
1934 - 2007
HPI: 57.22
Rank: 12