Before there were calculators (machines), there were calculators (people)! Human calculators (also called computers) performed the huge amount of hand calculation needed for astronomy, engineering, navigation, physics, and eventually space travel. Their work involved solving equations, processing scientific data, checking calculations for accuracy, and creating mathematical tables used by scientists and engineers.

Many famous human computers were women. At the time, calculation work was often viewed as tedious, repetitive support work rather than prestigious scientific work, so women were frequently assigned the job of carrying out the actual computations while men more often held leadership, theory, and research positions.

One of the most famous groups of human computers was a segregated unit of Black women mathematicians known as the "West Area Computers." Working at NASA's predecessor agency during the Jim Crow era, they calculated flight trajectories, processed research data, and contributed to early aeronautics and spaceflight. Their offices were designated for "Colored Computers," a reminder that some of the most accomplished mathematicians of their generation were still being classified and segregated by race.

People to look up:

• Katherine Johnson — West Area Computer and orbital mechanics specialist

• Dorothy Vaughan — West Area Computers supervisor and programmer

• Mary Jackson — West Area Computer and aerospace engineer

• Christine Darden — West Area Computer and supersonic flight researcher

• Henrietta Swan Leavitt — Harvard Computer and variable star researcher

• Annie Jump Cannon — Harvard Computer and stellar classifier

• Williamina Fleming — Harvard Computer and astronomical cataloger