Gladys West, a renowned mathematician whose work led to the invention of the GPS, has died at the age of 95. She passed away on Saturday, surrounded by family and friends.

“This woman had so much knowledge and was just such a beautiful person,” her biographer Marvin Jackson said in 2022, according to WTVR.

Gladys West went to an HBCU and joined this sorority

Born on Oct. 27, 1930, in Sutherland, Virginia, West grew up working on a tobacco farm with her family. As a student, she graduated as valedictorian and earned a scholarship at the HBCU Virginia State College, which is known today as Virginia State University. There, West became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and earned a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics. She eventually went on to complete another master’s degree in public administration at the University of Oklahoma, according to The Grio.

“We mourn the passing of VSU alumna Dr. Gladys West, a trailblazer whose brilliance helped shape modern GPS technology,” Virginia State University wrote in a statement posted on social media. “Her legacy of excellence, innovation, and service will forever inspire Trojan Nation.”

West also pursued academics later in life. At 70 years old, she completed her PhD at Virginia Tech despite suffering a stroke.

Gladys West invented the GPS while working for the U.S. government

In 1956, West was hired by the Naval Proving Ground in Virginia, which is known today as the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division. She was one of four Black employees to work at the facility at the time and the second Black woman to be hired, per The Grio.

“I carried that load round, thinking that I had to be the best that I could be. Always doing things just right, to set an example for other people who were coming behind me, especially women,” West told the BBC in 2018 while reflecting on her time working at the facility. “I strived hard to be tough and hang in there the best I could.”

As a mathematician, West was tasked to measure and model the shape of the Earth. Her work led her to creating the Global Positioning System, most commonly referred to as GPS. Years later, West said she never imagined her invention would be so widely used.

“It never gets too old,” she told Virginia Mercury in 2025. “I am just so pleased that I was able to make a contribution. When I was working, I never imagined that the GPS would be used in the civilian world. I love seeing all the ways that it can be used and I probably have no idea how vastly used it is.”