Who is Katherine Goble Johnson from the nonfiction book, Hidden Figures?

Katherine Goble Johnson was an African American mathematician who was later promoted to engineer. Her inquisitive nature and bright mind helped propel her forward in her career. She was respected for her analytical mind and was responsible for calculating the trajectory for the Project Mercury mission. Prior to the mission, astronaut John Glenn requested that Katherine double check the numbers produced by the IBM computer because he trusted that if she agreed with the numbers, they were correct.