Gladys West, Mathematician Who Helped Create GPS, Dies at 95

Gladys West, the mathematician who helped develop the basis for GPS, has died. She was 95.

Dinwiddie County officials in Virginia announced West’s death on Tuesday, Jan. 20, in a statement on social media and honored her “extraordinary legacy” as a lifelong pillar of the local public and broader mathematics and technology communities.

“Dr. Gladys West’s life is a powerful reminder that talent, perseverance, and education can transcend circumstances and inspire generations,” the county said. “Dinwiddie County is forever proud to call her one of our own.”

Born Gladys Mae Brown in Dinwiddie County, West finished high school at the top of her class and later earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics, according to the Library of Virginia. She then taught in public schools before earning her master’s degree in 1955.

West was hired by the Navy in 1956 to apply her mathematics expertise to computer programming and coding at Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Va., according to the Department of Defense. There, she was just the second African American woman hired, and only the fourth African American employee in total, according to the Library of Virginia.

Her broad skills and knowledge earned her respect from her colleagues and led her to forge multiple trailblazing projects during her decadeslong career.

Perhaps her most famous contribution was to the development of the modern Global Positioning System, or GPS, which she achieved by compiling data from orbiting satellites and creating algorithms that could compute precise surface elevations, according to the Library of Virginia. and distortions in the Earth’s shape, the Defense Department said.

West also spearheaded the project Seasat, which became the first satellite that could remotely sense the oceans on Earth, and according to the Department of Defense, in the early 1960s, she contributed to a study that determined Pluto’s regular motion relative to that of Neptune.

The mathematician published several papers and gave many presentations at prestigious conferences before she retired in 1998. Two decades later, West was inducted into the United States Air Force Hall of Fame in 2018, Dinwiddie County shared.

West is often called one of history’s “hidden figures,” according to Britannica, who were individuals, often Black women, whose “contributions to science went unrecognized in their time because of their race or gender.”

In a post on LinkedIn, Marvin Jackson — who wrote a biography on West, It Began With a Dream — paid tribute to the late mathematician on Sunday, Jan. 19.

“We became the best of friends, and her family became my family,” he wrote. “If you don’t know of this hidden figure, check out her incredible legacy and life history. A humble, scholar, mother, and family woman who helped change the world.”

Gladys West, the mathematician who helped develop the basis for GPS, has died. She was 95.

Dinwiddie County officials in Virginia announced West’s death on Tuesday, Jan. 20, in a statement on social media and honored her “extraordinary legacy” as a lifelong pillar of the local public and broader mathematics and technology communities.

“Dr. Gladys West’s life is a powerful reminder that talent, perseverance, and education can transcend circumstances and inspire generations,” the county said. “Dinwiddie County is forever proud to call her one of our own.”

Born Gladys Mae Brown in Dinwiddie County, West finished high school at the top of her class and later earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics, according to the Library of Virginia. She then taught in public schools before earning her master’s degree in 1955.

West was hired by the Navy in 1956 to apply her mathematics expertise to computer programming and coding at Naval Proving Ground in Dahlgren, Va., according to the Department of Defense. There, she was just the second African American woman hired, and only the fourth African American employee in total, according to the Library of Virginia.

Her broad skills and knowledge earned her respect from her colleagues and led her to forge multiple trailblazing projects during her decadeslong career.

Perhaps her most famous contribution was to the development of the modern Global Positioning System, or GPS, which she achieved by compiling data from orbiting satellites and creating algorithms that could compute precise surface elevations, according to the Library of Virginia. and distortions in the Earth’s shape, the Defense Department said.

West also spearheaded the project Seasat, which became the first satellite that could remotely sense the oceans on Earth, and according to the Department of Defense, in the early 1960s, she contributed to a study that determined Pluto’s regular motion relative to that of Neptune.

The mathematician published several papers and gave many presentations at prestigious conferences before she retired in 1998. Two decades later, West was inducted into the United States Air Force Hall of Fame in 2018, Dinwiddie County shared.

West is often called one of history’s “hidden figures,” according to Britannica, who were individuals, often Black women, whose “contributions to science went unrecognized in their time because of their race or gender.”

In a post on LinkedIn, Marvin Jackson — who wrote a biography on West, It Began With a Dream — paid tribute to the late mathematician on Sunday, Jan. 19.

“We became the best of friends, and her family became my family,” he wrote. “If you don’t know of this hidden figure, check out her incredible legacy and life history. A humble, scholar, mother, and family woman who helped change the world.”