Gladys West

Gladys West was born on October 27, 1930, in rural Virginia, where she grew up in a farming family and discovered a love for mathematics. She earned a scholarship to study math and later joined the U.S. Naval Proving Ground as one of the few Black female mathematicians of her time. There, she developed complex mathematical models of the Earth's shape and processed satellite data, work that became a key foundation for the Global Positioning System (GPS). Although her contributions went largely unrecognized for many years, she was eventually honored for helping create the technology that billions of people use every day for navigation. Gladys West's story is a testament to the power of education, perseverance, and the lasting impact of working behind the scenes to change the world.