Recognizing NC’s ‘Human Computers’ with Raleigh Historical Marker

On Sep 23, 2023

TL/DR –

North Carolina recognized a group of trailblazing women, known as ‘human computers’, for their contributions to the country’s space program through a dedicated highway historical marker. Located outside the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, the marker honors the women mathematicians who performed the necessary calculations for space travel. Some of the women recognized include Christine Barnes Richie, a graduate of North Carolina College for Negroes who worked at Langley Research Center alongside Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan, and Virginia Tucker, who led the recruitment of many fellow North Carolinians to the computing ranks during World War II.

North Carolina’s “Human Computers” Recognized with Highway Historical Marker

North Carolina has honored its trailblazing ‘human computers’, who played a pivotal role in the country’s space program. A highway historical marker dedicated to these pioneering women mathematicians was unveiled outside the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh.

These women, referred to as “human computers”, performed the mathematical calculations vital for human space exploration. The majority of these “calculators” or “computers” were women, whose contributions broke societal barriers, opening doors for future generations of women scientists, mathematicians, and engineers, as highlighted by the NCDNCR.

A notable figure among the honorees is Christine Barnes Richie, a graduate of North Carolina College for Negroes (currently N.C. Central University). Richie, who worked at Langley Research Center during the segregation era, collaborated closely with Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan of “Hidden Figures” fame, to analyze data and plot projections for the space program.

Virginia Tucker, one of the first five women mathematicians assigned to the newly organized computer pool at Langley Research Center in Virginia in September 1935, also gained recognition. Tucker successfully recruited numerous North Carolinians into the computing ranks during WWII, significantly expanding the pool.

About 20 participants were Meredith College, Raleigh graduates. The marker’s inscription reads: “Human Computers. Women mathematicians, many from N.C., executed complex calculations for U.S. military and NASA, 1941-1975, during WWII and the Space Race.”