Mary Jackson Hidden Figures Bronze Medal

This medal is a bronze replica of the Congressional Gold Medal presented to Mary Jackson in recognition of her contribution to the success of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during the Space Race. Congress authorized the medal on November 8, 2019 and presented it on September 18, 2024. The Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act (Public Law 116-68) also awarded medals to Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Dr. Christine Darden, and a fifth medal for all the women who made NASA successful. The Mint issued the bronze medal duplicates in 3.0 inch and 1.5 inch sizes.

Mary Winston Jackson was an African American mathematician and aerospace engineer. She became the first Black female engineer at NASA, where she excelled academically during a time of racial segregation.

She started her career at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Langley Research Center West Area Computing unit in Hampton, Virginia in 1951. She petitioned to take graduate-level night classes at an all-white high school to complete the training needed to become an enginner. As NASA’s first Black female engineer, she analyzed wind tunnel and aircraft flight data for the Theoretical Aerodynamics Branch and published multiple technical papers.

Mary Jackson retired from NASA in 1985.