The Los Altos Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) recognized the late Los Altos resident Mary Golda Ross as their 2024 “Women in American History” awardee during the group’s Jan. 19 meeting.
Ross lived in Los Altos from 1954 until her death in 2008 at her home on Thurston Avenue. A member of the Cherokee Nation, she was the first Native American female engineer and the first female engineer in the history of the Lockheed Corporation. She was one of the founding members of Lockheed’s “Skunk Works” (officially the Advanced Development Program), the only female of the 40 people on the project at the time. She authored multiple publications relating to her work, much of which is still classified. Ross’ career included work on:
• Feasibility and performance of ballistic missile and other defense systems;
• Space exploration including the Apollo program, the Polaris reentry vehicle, engineering systems for manned space flights, and interplanetary space probes including flybys of Mars and Venus;
• Distribution of pressure caused by ocean waves and how it affected submarine-launched vehicles; and
• The NASA Planetary Flight Handbook Vol. 3, which is still relevant to space travel today.
Ross was named a Fellow and Life Member of the Society of Women Engineers, and was the recipient of many other awards and recognitions. She was posthumously inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2023. Her life is the subject of a children’s picture book, “Classified: The Secret Career of Mary Golda Ross, Cherokee Aerospace Engineer” (available through the Santa Clara County Library District). She served as a mentor and frequently gave talks to encourage Native American youth and young women to pursue careers in engineering.
An image of Ross is featured on the 2019 Native American $1 Coin design, whose theme is “American Indians in the Space Program.”
For the Women in American History award, DAR chapters select a notable woman from their state or community to honor in recognition of her impact and contributions to her community. The awardees are women who are, or have been, intellectual, educational, social, religious, political, scientific or cultural innovators.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is a nonpolitical women’s community service organization founded in 1890 to preserve the memory and spirit of those who contributed to securing American independence. Any woman 18 years or older is eligible to join if she can prove lineal descent from a supporter of the American Revolution (through military service, financial donations, food supplies or other support). The Los Altos Chapter, DAR focuses on local historic preservation projects, genealogy research, fundraising for a Foothill College scholarship fund, environmental conservation, service to veterans, and other community projects.
To learn more, email [email protected] or visit losaltos.californiadar.org.
