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)
My work is to open doors for others.
You can't be what you can't see. So we have to show them.
Progress is like climbing a mountain; it's slow and hard, but the view from the top is worth it.
I had to petition the City of Hampton just to attend classes with white students. It was a matter of principle.
The numbers don't lie, and they don't care about your skin color either.
Excellence is the best answer to prejudice.
We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and we have a duty to lift up those who come after.
I wasn't just doing a job; I was helping put a man into space.
Never let your circumstances define your capabilities.
The wind tunnel is a brutal teacher, but a fair one.
Change sometimes starts with a single, stubborn 'yes' in a world full of 'nos.'
I am a mathematician, an engineer, and a woman of color. I am all three, and I will not be limited by anyone's narrow expectations.
The sky is not the limit when you're working to reach the stars.
You master the fundamentals so thoroughly that you can forget them and focus on the problem.
Diversity in thought is as critical as precision in calculation.
I didn't break the barriers for myself. I broke them for the people who would come after me.
A problem is just a puzzle waiting for the right mind to solve it.
Courage is doing what's right even when it's never been done before.
The data will guide you if you are honest in seeking it.
My legacy is not a title, but a trail.
Contemporaries of Mary Jackson
Other Mathematicss born within 50 years of Mary Jackson (1921–2005).