All About Katherine

Katherine Adams Johnson, daughter of Haynes Bonner and Julia Erwin Johnson, was born on August 9, 1955, in Manhasset, New York, right in the middle of a hurricane. She suspects this may be why she dances to her own unique tune. Alexandria, Virginia, was her childhood home. Her father was an author, television commentator, journalism professor, and a journalist who walked with Martin Luther King in Selma, Alabama. He received a Pulitzer Prize in 1966 for his articles covering the civil rights movement. His father, Malcolm Johnson, received the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for a series about crime on the New York City docks which became the basis for the film “On the Waterfront.” They are the first father, son Pulitzer winners. Her mother was a concert pianist and college music professor.

At 17, Katherine went on a 6-week summer trip behind the “Iron Curtain,” to the Soviet Union, East Berlin, and Europe, on a comparative political study that changed her life forever, opening her eyes to the dangers of the world’s political systems. She earned a B.A. in International Studies and Cross-cultural training. Katherine worked in the international field for a number of years in Washington, D.C. After moving to Louisville, she served as President of the Louisville Chapter of the United Nations Association of the United States (UNA/USA).