Talk:Mary Jackson (engineer)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Mary Jackson (engineer)/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Kees08 (talk · contribs) 03:49, 16 January 2017 (UTC)

Rate	Attribute	Review Comment
1. Well-written:
	1a. the prose is clear, concise, and understandable to an appropriately broad audience; spelling and grammar are correct.	Reword this: Jackson is featured in the 2016 film Hidden Figures about three African-American women who worked in a variety of departments at NASA, including calculating flight trajectories, engineering and computer programming, for Project Mercury and Apollo 11 in 1960s. This sounds a little weird (highest level of engineer): After 34 years at NASA, Jackson reached the highest level of engineer that was possible for her without becoming a supervisor. I think demotion might be a more proper term over paycut: She decided to take a pay cut and change positions to become an administrator in the Equal Opportunity Specialist field. Unnecessary comma: She served as both the Federal Women’s Program Manager in the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, and as the Affirmative Action Program Manager.
	1b. it complies with the Manual of Style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation.	I think the intro can be expanded a tad to include her later career.
2. Verifiable with no original research:
	2a. it contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline.
	2b. reliable sources are cited inline. All content that could reasonably be challenged, except for plot summaries and that which summarizes cited content elsewhere in the article, must be cited no later than the end of the paragraph (or line if the content is not in prose).	Is legacy.com a reliable source? Same with introductionsnecessary.com? Looks like it is a tertiary source that takes from other sources. Probably best to cite from the originals.
	2c. it contains no original research.
	2d. it contains no copyright violations or plagiarism.	All copy-vios are stolen from here, not vice versa.
3. Broad in its coverage:
	3a. it addresses the main aspects of the topic.	Include an awards section, similar to how the astronaut articles are written.
	3b. it stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style).	She graduated w/ highest honors from her high school. Could add more detail on the type of wind tunnel she was working on; supersonic flow was fairly novel during that time period. Mention that the classes were managed (I assume for?) the University of Virginia. Did she get an additional degree from this? The NASA source I am looking at says more than three decades as a scout leader, not 20 as the article indicates. List as many papers as you can find the titles for in a bibliography section. This source has info on all the positions she held at NASA. It has a lot of good info that should generally be included in the article: https://crgis.ndc.nasa.gov/crgis/images/9/96/MaryJackson1.pdf
	4. Neutral: it represents viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each.
	5. Stable: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute.
6. Illustrated, if possible, by media such as images, video, or audio:
	6a. media are tagged with their copyright statuses, and valid non-free use rationales are provided for non-free content.	I'm not sure her Obituary photo that is currently used is a NASA photo. I did not see a NASA ID associated with it anywhere, and just because it is on a NASA website does not mean NASA owns the copyright. Here are two photos where they do own the copyright you could replace it with: https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/mary-jackson-at-nasa-langley-1 https://www.nasa.gov/content/mary-jackson-biography These might already be in the Commons, and there may be other good photos out there, this was just a cursory Google search.
	6b. media are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions.	On hold in the event you add both photos and caption the one.
	7. Overall assessment.

Noting that I've addressed the issues in part 1 and 2. I believe Legacy.com is acceptable, as it is simply rehosting content from the Daily Press I have not been able to find the original content (archived or otherwise), but based on my searches of this domain on Wikipedia and elsewhere I have no reason to believe they're not rehosting the original content. As for introductionsnecessary, I've removed the references to that site and replaced them. I'll address parts 3–6 tomorrow. GorillaWarfare (talk) 07:45, 16 January 2017 (UTC)

@Kees08: Okay, I've gone through the rest! Regarding whether she earned an additional degree from her night courses, I haven't seen any sources indicating that she did. GorillaWarfare (talk) 21:26, 16 January 2017 (UTC)

Edit request

Can't find correct section in this talk space to request addition of this new information. http://fox13now.com/2018/04/26/utah-elementary-school-celebrates-name-change-honoring-first-black-female-nasa-engineer/ Samuelsenwd (talk) 16:44, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

Looks like this has already been added. Thanks! GorillaWarfare (talk) 23:14, 27 April 2018 (UTC)

Displayed subtitle for Hidden Figures book differs from actual subtitle

Why is the displayed subtitle "The Story of the African-American Women Who Helped Win the Space Race" when the actual subtitle of the book is "The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race"? -- Jasondbecker (talk) 19:45, 7 March 2019 (UTC)

Looks like it was just a mistake. I've edited the page to correct the title. GorillaWarfare (talk) 23:51, 7 March 2019 (UTC)

It might be a regional variation. Australian or British printings somewhat often change titles to some extent. Harry Potter and the [Philosopher's/Sorcerer's] Stone is probably the most recent well-known example. Adam Cuerden ^(talk)_{Has about 6.8% of all FPs} 16:32, 16 July 2019 (UTC)

Found Mary Jackson's Marriage Certificate

So while I happen to have a trial subscription to a geneology site, I happened to notice Mary Jackson's wedding date is missing from the Article. A search via Google had no results, so I thought to plug in her maiden/birth name "Mary Jackson", with her father's name "Frank Winston", and her mother's first name "Ella", limit the search to just Virginia, and to just marriage records and I found this. I think it's accurate and authentic, but what I don't know is how to get it into the Article. I don't know if it fails RS, or OR, or what. I believe the information is accurate, since all the data lines up. Plus there's some really good extra information included, such as the fact that her middle name is "Eliza" (not mentioned in the Article), she was married on, or the "Date of proposed marriage" was Nov. 18th, 1944. Her father's middle name was given "Frank C. Winston" (Article misses the "C" part), etc... There's other good information. The source for the record is "Virginia, Marriage Records, 1936-2014", so it's a government document from a government source, so I assume that's both RS and not OR, but do not know how these policies actually get implemented at the Article level. Can Wikipedia quote a government document? If not, can this information be kept in the Talk page in case it's useful in the future?Tym Whittier (talk) 21:57, 6 June 2019 (UTC)

It's a primary source, but I think it could potentially be used for uncontroversial claims like the date of marriage. I wonder, could the certificate be uploaded to Commons? I'm no copyright whiz, but it would seem like some combination of its age and its status as a government document would make it PD... Maybe someone else watching this page would know. GorillaWarfare (talk) 23:24, 11 June 2019 (UTC)

I can't see anyone objecting to its use as a source; hard to say about the copyright. I incorporated the date and her husband's profession from it into the article. Adam Cuerden ^(talk)_{Has about 6.8% of all FPs} 16:30, 16 July 2019 (UTC)

I have seen similar sources used in articles before and their veracity was not challenged (AGF and all that). Kees08 (Talk) 16:40, 16 July 2019 (UTC)

Images

@Coffeeandcrumbs, GorillaWarfare, and Adam Cuerden: I uploaded a few images to Commons from NASA. There are a couple of nice ones, including a good 1979 portrait and some color photos. For some reason I cannot decide what images should be in the article and where. Pinging Gorillawarfare as GA nominator, Adam as picture restorer (for the lead image at least), and Coffeeandcrumbs in case any of you have opinions. Kees08 (Talk) 16:46, 15 July 2019 (UTC)

I'd say move the lead down (it's my favourite image of her working) and make File:Mary Jackson 1979 Portrait (LRC-1979-B701 P-07085).jpg the new lead. File:Mary_Jackson_working.jpg and File:Mary Jackson with a model.jpg are my favourites after that. There's not any really good colour photos. Could put one in if you really wanted. Adam Cuerden ^(talk)_{Has about 6.8% of all FPs} 16:28, 16 July 2019 (UTC)

I agree and have performed the edit. I do not think any of the color images should be added just because they are color, but it might be worth adding in something like File:Mary Jackson with group (LRC-1983-B701 P-02400).jpg, to show how active she was in outreach. Some other images are from a Federal Women's Program awards ceremony, where she handed out awards (as far as I can tell). I do not feel strongly at all about it, just wanted to offer the option. Kees08 (Talk) 16:52, 16 July 2019 (UTC)

Makes sense. Go for it! Adam Cuerden ^(talk)_{Has about 6.8% of all FPs} 21:42, 16 July 2019 (UTC)

These are great! I agree with the choices of which to include. GorillaWarfare (talk) 01:51, 19 July 2019 (UTC)

Mary Jackson WAS NOT AN ENGINEER

This lady was a great asset to NASA and was very smart; however, she WAS NOT an engineer. She majored in Math and Physical Science, NOT ENGINEERING. Someone should correct this article, because it is WRONG. You don't become a doctor by visiting a hospital, you become a doctor by graduating from medical school. I graduated from college with an aerospace engineering degree 35 yr ago. Be accurate. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:e000:1f00:4b55:7d08:9acc:8f64:84e1 (talk) 23:07, 28 June 2020 (UTC)

When NASA themselves describe her as an engineer ([1]), I think it's safe to say she was. I understand where you are coming from—as a software engineer myself I have certainly heard my share of "you are not a real engineer"—but we go by what reliable sources say, and they say she is an engineer. GorillaWarfare (talk) 23:17, 28 June 2020 (UTC)

In hidden figers in class every whit student was looking at her but she did not care and continued to work. 2601:410:81:B990:4F7F:4F17:67AF:6F9 (talk) 21:29, 12 February 2023 (UTC)

that's how she became an engineer and worked for [NASA] 2601:410:81:B990:4F7F:4F17:67AF:6F9 (talk) 21:31, 12 February 2023 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: ENG 105 SP 23

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 16 January 2023 and 7 April 2023. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Jadapatterson2021 (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Jadapatterson2021 (talk) 02:26, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

How long has merry worked at nasa

71.84.107.255 (talk) 23:33, 17 April 2023 (UTC)

How would we know 71.84.107.255 (talk) 23:33, 17 April 2023 (UTC)

1951 to 1985, per the article. Schazjmd (talk) 23:38, 17 April 2023 (UTC)

Comment

:this is a very great article. I loved to learn about a woman who was very invested in her community and encouraged women to work for NASA and focus on STEM. Jackson had so many contributions. What was it exactly that she did for the Washington Headquarters to name their headquarters after her? Injim101 (talk) 17:19, 10 June 2023 (UTC)

:: Hi! Can you give me any advice for improving this article?--~~~~ 97 Civic Coupe (talk) 03:56, 11 June 2023 (UTC)

Assessment of Wikipedia Biography Article  

I assessed the article about Mary Jackson, the first black female aerospace engineer, and American mathematician. The text article was organized, and the timeline of Ms. Jackson’s life was easy to follow and understand. However, there is a discrepancy in the article. The article stated that Ms. Jackson was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2019 and died in 2005. My question is, did her children accept the award on her behalf? The article should have stated if a relative received the award for her or the Congress just awarded the Congressional Gold Medal due to her expertise provided at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Overall, the citations and references of the article biography were provided. The references, in-text citations, and the highlighted links within the article were cited correctly. The researchers made researching more information about Mary Jackson’s life less frustrating. In addition, incorporate pictures with the date or year. ~~~~.

QueensLink (talk) 03:47, 4 February 2024 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: UGST112 - Women in Science and Math Fall 2024

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 2 October 2024 and 11 December 2024. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Vistell (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Vistell (talk) 22:40, 28 October 2024 (UTC)

Featured picture scheduled for POTD

Hello! This is to let editors know that File:Mary Jackson_1979_Portrait_(LRC-1979-B701_P-07085).jpg, a featured picture used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for November 27, 2024. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/2024-11-27. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you!  — Amakuru (talk) 17:07, 21 November 2024 (UTC)

Mary Jackson (1921–2005) was an American mathematician and aerospace engineer at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and its successor, NASA. She worked at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, for most of her career. She started as a computer at the segregated West Area Computing division in 1951. In 1958, after taking engineering classes, she became NASA's first black female engineer. Jackson had earned the most senior engineering title available by 1979 and realized she could not earn further promotions without becoming a supervisor. She accepted a demotion to become a manager of both NASA's federal women's program and the affirmative action program. Her work sought to influence the career paths of women in science, engineering, and mathematics positions at NASA. Jackson is one of the leading characters in the 2016 book Hidden Figures and one of the three protagonists in the book's film adaptation, released the same year. This NASA photograph of Jackson was taken in 1979.

Photograph credit: NASA; restored by Adam Cuerden

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