Mary Jackson
An American mathematician and aerospace engineer at NASA, who became NASA's first black female engineer.
Most quoted
"We have to do something like this to get them interested in science. Sometimes they are not aware of the number of black scientists, and don't even know of the career opportunities until it is too late."
— from On community outreach, 1970
"I plan to be an engineer at NASA, but I have to take the graduate-level courses in math and physics to qualify, and they're only offered at a segregated high school."
— from Conversation with supervisor, 1958
"I changed my mind about what I wanted to be, and I changed my mind about what I wanted to do, and I changed my mind about what I wanted to be when I grew up."
— from Interview
All quotes by Mary Jackson (397)
We have to be able to do something. We have to be able to do something to get them to understand that we are not second-class citizens.
I changed my mind about teaching. I decided to go into engineering.
I was a computer. I was a human computer.
I knew I had to be good. I knew I had to be better than good.
You can't just sit there and let people tell you what you can't do.
I always tried to be the best at what I did.
I wanted to be an engineer. I wanted to be a part of something big.
It was hard, but I never gave up.
I had to fight for everything I got.
I wanted to make a difference.
I believe in hard work and perseverance.
I was determined to succeed.
I wanted to open doors for others.
Education is the key to success.
Never let anyone tell you that you can't achieve your dreams.
I was proud to be a part of the space program.
We were doing something that had never been done before.
It was an exciting time to be alive.
I loved my job. I loved the challenge.
I always tried to learn new things.
Contemporaries of Mary Jackson
Other Mathematicss born within 50 years of Mary Jackson (1921–2005).