Jessica Crabtree

Teacher, mathematician, aeronautical engineer, rocket scientist, top-secret ballistics expert, NASA Apollo project consultant.

And, did I mention, a Cherokee woman?

Mary G. Ross, born in 1908, was the great-great granddaughter of the Cherokee chief John Ross, and grew up in the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. Her mathematical talents were quickly recognized and by 1942 she was working for the Lockheed Corporation, a position she held for more than 30 years. She is regarded as America’s first woman engineer, and for decades held a prominent place as one of the country’s most valuable scientists. She used her skills to promote education among young Native Americans across the country. She passed away in 2008 just shy of her 100th birthday.

Read more about the career of this brilliant Indian woman:

National Museum of the American Indian: Mary G. Ross

Mary G. Ross (center) at the opening ceremony of the National Museum of the American Indian.