James Francis Goble, Katherine Johnson's husband

James Francis Goble was the husband of Katherine Johnson. James’ wife, Katherine was an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. During her 33-year career at NASA and its predecessor, she earned a reputation for mastering complex manual calculations and helped pioneer the use of computers to perform tasks. The space agency noted her “historical role as one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist”.

James Francis Goble’s wife, Katherine Johnson broke the barriers of age, race, and gender before any feminist movement, through her rigorous and supreme performance in manual calculations, and impeccable accuracy.

Unlike his wife, James Francis Goble was not a mathematician. Instead, he was a chemistry teacher. 

He started his profession as a teacher right after graduating from college.

James Francis Goble: Profile Summary

Full NameJames Francis Goble
Famous asHusband of Katherine Johnson
Date of BirthMarch 29, 1913
Date of DeathDecember 20, 1956
Age at time of Death43 years old
Place of BirthMarion, Smyth County, Virginia, United States
Place of Burial520 Shell Road, Hampton, Hampton City County, Virginia, 23661, United States
Zodiac signAries
NationalityAmerican
EthnicityAfrican American
WifeKatherine Johnson
ChildrenJoylette Goble, Constance Goble, Katherine Goble

Born on March 29, 1913, James Francis Goble was the first husband of Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson, a notable groundbreaking African-American physicist and mathematician who worked for NASA’s aeronautics space program back during the early 1950’s through the late 1960’s/early ’70’s. James was a chemistry teacher.

James was born as a son of father Charles Jackson Goble, Sr., and mother Anna Thomas-Goble (Smith) on March 29, 1913. He was born in Marion, Smyth County, Virginia, United States.

He was born in a small middle-class family. He had four siblings, three of whose whereabouts are not known to anyone.

It is believed three of them are males and the fourth one is his sister, Helen Goble McClanahan.

How did James and Katherine meet? Much has not been said about how the two love birds meet. However, They got married in 1939. Together they had three daughters, Constance, Joylette and Katherine.

James Goble died of an inoperable brain tumor in December 20, 1956 at the age of 43. To help support her family, Katherine quit school and returned to teaching. However, during a trip to visit relatives in Newport News, Virginia in 1952, her sister and brother-in-Law told Katherine they believed that opportunities were opening up for black women in mathematics at a nearby aeronautics research facility. The next week, the Gobles relocated so Katherine could pursue her dream.

Three years after the death of James Francis Goble , Katherine married James A. “Jim” Johnson, a United States Army officer and veteran of the Korean War; the pair were married for 60 years until his death in March 2019 at the age of 93. Katherine also died in 2021, February 24 at the age of 101.

Being the husband of a groundbreaking scientist James Goble supported his wife in every way he could to make her a successful pioneering genius female mind of America. Apollo 11, one of the major highlights, her impeccable calculations made other planets like Mercury and earth’s orbit in space accessible to earth folks.

This contribution made by Katherine was critical to the success of NASA’s attempt on crewed space flights and basically, every subsequent discovery made by NASA. She was called an “American Academic Hero”, and basically a “Computer” who pioneered a legacy in calculations.

In 2015, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

James Francis Goble’s wife, Katherine retired from NASA after serving in NASA’s flight research division for 33 years in 1986. She would have remained unheralded if not for the movie released recently. Her contributions were appreciated through the feature film “Hidden Figures” in February 2016.

This movie portrayed Katherine and her late colleagues, whose contributions were significant milestones in making America a great nation in terms of research and development. The movie received a Screen Actors Guild Award and was nominated for three Oscar awards.

Katherine was the only person alive among her cohort to appear onstage with the cast at the Academy Awards ceremony.

Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility also caused a roar in 2017. In addition to that, she released an autobiography “Reaching for the moon” written by herself three years back.

All of these exposures had repeated mention of her first husband James Francis Goble. This was the reason why James has been in limelight after sixty-four years of his death.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pbXCsqurnZ6ZwG%2BvzqZmo5mdmsBustGapZyho2K0sK7LnmSkmaSdsrO1zZ5ko6eYo8CwutJmn66rkpa7pXs%3D