American mathematician and aerospace engineer, Mary Jackson was the first Black female engineer at NASA. A member of the “Hidden Figures,” she contributed to the calculations for the first American space missions and fought for equal rights within the agency.
Mary Jackson(1910 — 2005)
Mary Jackson
États-Unis
8 min read
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- 1921: Born in Hampton, Virginia, in a context of racial segregation
- 1951: Joins the NACA (future NASA) as a “human computer”
- 1958: Becomes the first Black female engineer at NASA
- 1979: Dedicates herself to promoting women and minorities within NASA
- 2019: Posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal
Works & Achievements
In 1958, Mary Jackson became the first Black female engineer at NASA after completing special engineering courses. This pioneering achievement was the result of years of work and a personal fight against segregation.
Mary Jackson took part in aerodynamic experiments in the wind tunnels at Langley Research Center, contributing to technical reports that supported American aerospace programs throughout the Space Race.
After voluntarily stepping down from her position as a senior engineer, Mary Jackson took over NASA's Equal Employment Opportunity program, working to improve the hiring and promotion prospects of women and minorities within the agency.
Throughout her life, Mary Jackson dedicated herself to science education programs for young people, including leading science workshops for the Boy Scouts to inspire vocations among girls and children from minority communities.
Mary Jackson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor in the United States, alongside Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Christine Darden, in recognition of their role in the early years of the American space age.
Anecdotes
To access the engineering courses required for her advancement at NASA, Mary Jackson had to personally petition the city of Hampton, Virginia, for permission to attend classes at a whites-only school. She won her case and became one of the first Black women to walk through those doors, proving that perseverance could bring down the walls of segregation.
In 1958, Mary Jackson officially became NASA's first Black female engineer — a title she had spent years earning against the combined barriers of racism and sexism. Her promotion was recognized internally, but remained largely unknown to the general public for a long time, her contributions having been overlooked for decades.
In the late 1970s, having reached the highest grade available to an engineer without moving into management, Mary Jackson made a decision that surprised her colleagues: she voluntarily accepted a pay cut to become manager of NASA's equal opportunity programs. She chose to open doors for others rather than protect her own advantages.
Mary Jackson was part of the group of Black women mathematicians known as the “colored computers” at NACA's Langley Research Center. These women performed complex aerodynamic calculations by hand, in offices segregated from white employees, even using separate restrooms — a reality long hidden from the history of the American space race.
In 2019, NASA's headquarters building in Washington was officially renamed the “Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters” in her honor, forty years after she left her engineering role to dedicate herself to workplace equality. It is a symbolic, long-overdue recognition for a woman whose name had nearly faded into obscurity.
Primary Sources
Mary Jackson is among the engineers who contributed to aerodynamic drag calculations in the supersonic wind tunnels at Langley, work documented in the technical archives of the NACA and later NASA.
Mary Jackson submitted a formal request to the city of Hampton to be admitted to an engineering training program restricted to white students, arguing on the basis of her qualifications and the absence of an equivalent segregated alternative.
NASA records document Mary Jackson's promotion to the title of aerospace engineer in 1958, making her the first Black woman to hold that position at the agency.
Mary Jackson describes her years in the West Area Computing unit, the operation of the wind tunnels, and working conditions under segregation, offering a firsthand account of that era.
Key Places
Mary Jackson's hometown and lifelong home, where she was born in 1921 and died in 2005. It is also where she received her education and built her entire career.
The research center where Mary Jackson spent her entire career, first as a mathematician and then as an aerospace engineer. It is the geographical and professional heart of her whole story.
The school where Mary Jackson received exceptional permission to attend engineering courses that were at the time restricted to white students — a decisive step toward her promotion to engineer at NASA.
NASA's headquarters, renamed in 2019 in honor of Mary Jackson. The building stands as an official — and long overdue — recognition of her pioneering role in the history of the American space agency.
The museum where oral archives and testimonies related to the "Hidden Figures" are preserved, and which has helped keep alive and share the memory of Mary Jackson and her colleagues.
Liens externes & ressources
Références
Œuvres
Promotion au grade d'ingénieure aérospatiale à la NASA
1958
Contributions aux études de soufflerie supersonique à Langley
1958-1979
Programme d'égalité professionnelle à la NASA (EEO)
1979-1985
Engagement dans les organisations de jeunesse et les Scouts
1970-2005
Reconnaissance posthume — Congressional Gold Medal
2019
