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)
To reach the stars, start with the slide rule.
My calculations powered the impossible.
Life's inequalities can be balanced with intellect.
In math, there's no room for doubt—only proof.
I was the first, but I won't be the last.
Aerodynamics teaches us that lift comes from resistance.
Persistence is the variable that solves for success.
At NASA, we don't just crunch numbers; we launch dreams.
Barriers are illusions; equations are truth.
A good mathematician sees patterns where others see chaos.
I fought for equality one calculation at a time.
The beauty of math is in its universality.
Don't let prejudice alter your course.
Engineering women build the world anew.
My legacy is in the equations that soared.
Variables change, but principles remain constant.
Humor in the lab: Why did the engineer break up? Irreconcilable differences in constants.
Space exploration demands precision in every digit.
Life's greatest theorem is resilience.
I computed paths to equality.
Contemporaries of Mary Jackson
Other Mathematicss born within 50 years of Mary Jackson (1921–2005).