husband's health and welfare. but i believe that this is the first lady's primary concern. she is first of all a wife. that's why she's there. and the book offers no apologies in this regard. a president has advises to counsel him on foreign affairs on defense on an economy on politics on any number of matters. but no one among all those experts is there to look after him as an individual with human needs. as a flesh and blood person whom was dealed with the pressures of holding the most powerful position on earth. and that was my job. thank you for joining us on american history tv for this special look and nancy reagan in her own words next week hillary clinton an overtly political first lady who successfully ran for the united states senate served as secretary of state and then campaigned for the presidency herself. american history tvs first lady series is also available as a

podcast. you can find it whereve what's the status on that computer? she's right behind you, mr. harrison. so she handle analytic geometry? absolutely. and she speaks? yes, sir, i do. which one? both geometry and speaking. give me. you think you can find me the for a frame for this data using, the graham sharp analyzation algorithm? yes sir, i prefer it over euclidean katherine has had the fortune of having hollywood shine light on her life. there are people right here in west virginia that had no idea

of what katherine did for nasa and for the united states of america. and so when the movie hidden figures came out, it showed everyone who katherine johnson was, what she did, and how profound was in the pages of american history. katherine hired as what they call then computer, where she came in and did mathematical type of equations for nasa what they didn't realize was that she was more than just a computer she was a mathematical genius. that's what katherine johnson was. godspeed. i'm glad. five are her one. they are. in fact, john glenn who said this thing, not katherine. this actual computer that was built calculated his, actual trajectory into space. and he wanted that verified by

katherine johnson. now here's the important he didn't act the mathematician is from m.i.t. he didn't do mathematicians from stanford or harvard. he acts, the brilliant mathematician from virginia state university. to calculate my trajectory, make sure i get home safe. that says a lot about what katherine was to to not only nasa but what she meant to the individuals that she worked with they relied on her they put their lives in her hands. so what she meant to to nasa was that we won the space race and. katherine johnson played a very significant in that you know katherine is from small town about 2 hours from west virginia state university called white sulfur springs and. we had the privilege before the rest of the world fell in love with katherine johnson. we had the privilege to have her little beautiful face on our campus at the tender age of ten because she was unable to go to

high school in her hometown because of the hue of her skin. so she and her family had to pack up and travel 2 hours to come to west virginia state university. we had then a elementary and a high school that was part of the university at that time. and so a young katherine johnson all of her mathematical skills and intelligence came here and she graduated at the age of 15, and then she entered what was then west virginia state college, now west virginia state university. and she left us in 1937 at the age of 18. and she has never looked back. so in 1937, when captain graduated from west virginia state university. she went into the field of teaching. she was inspired here and understood the very significance of teaching, paying it forward. and so she went into teaching for about 13 years. catherine nasa at a time, african-americans and america

overall was still living dual worlds. we had a white america and an african-american america, and catherine was having to very delicately walk in both worlds, and she went to work every and gave nasa and the none of who looked like her 100%, as she said in spite of how i'm treated where i can go and eat what i can do, i'm going to come here and fight to make sure i do the best job for my country and for the space race. so while at nasa, there were three significant space ventures that katherine played, a very significant role in. one was alan shepard, who was the first individual that entered into space, while katherine calculated, the trajectories for that space to happen. we also know that she played a very significant role in glenn and john glenn has said

throughout his life and at the end of his life that he not venture into space if katherine johnson was not checking the calculations on his spaceflight and so the actual flight with john glenn, where he orbited the earth, katherine johnson played a significant role in them. and we know that captain played a significant role in the moon landing. and so those are three pivotal moments that changed space and how we in the united states of america nasa today i had the pleasure on catherine's 99th birthday to be with her at the greenbrier at. ed at 99, i was in awe of just how sharp she still was. we laughed, we joked. we had a great time and she as as radiant and beautiful. at 99 than she was when she

walked our campus back in the early thirties. and so when i left that, that ninth birthday, i started ask myself right as people learn more and more about katherine johnson as the university she loved so dear and we love her. we have to do something to help recognize her and make sure history never forgets how profound she was in helping nasa win the space race. so i got a team of my faculty and staff and students together and we started and i said listen, we're going to honor katherine johnson by placing a statue right here on our campus. her alma mater from the time i brought our team and we started planning, we had about 8 to 9 months. the goal was to do it on her 100th birthday. dr. katherine coleman goebel johnson you are no longer and never.

hidden. and so on august 25th, 2018, we had johnson and about a thousand fans and right here on our campus oh right yeah right. and on that day it was beautiful. she was able to be with us. she loved statue. her family was and just all and it was a crystallizing moment that katherine johnson regardless of what she does here on out she will be a part of west virginia state university forever. and so today her story is inspiring all around the world. in fact, it is said that katherine liked to count everything when she was younger, she counted in the yard.

she counted the to church. she counted everything she could get her mind around in her hands, on and when we dedicated this statue to her in 2018, on her 100th birthday, i told katherine that i knew something that she could not count and that was the number of people that she's inspired. so that is the katherine johnson story and it is my hope that young men and women of all and all economic backdrops will take more time to learn about this incredible american.

all right. welcome back, everybody. we are obviously at that point in the semester where we're looking at west virginia statehood, the creation of the state that we're currently in. we can finally, after this point, stop talking about western virgin