Catherine Langford

Present during the Giza excavation in 1928 (when she was a young girl), Catherine Langford's lifelong pursuit to uncover the mysteries of the Stargate brought her both joy and tragedy. It was her father, Professor Langford, who led a team of engineers in opening the gate in 1945 by random dialing. They believed the device to be a "doorway to Heaven," but were uncertain of its true function. At the time, the professor's co-worker Dr. Ernest Littlefield was very close to asking permission to marry Catherine -- but he was lost through the Stargate when they established a connection to another world, and could not return home. Catherine spent much of her adult life petitioning the U.S. government to reactivate research regarding the ancient artifact. Finally, circa 1995, a Pentagon team was created, including Samantha Carter, Barbara Shore and Gary Meyers, who worked with Langford to uncover the gate's true nature and functioning.

It was two years later when she discovered Dr. Daniel Jackson, an archaeologist shunned by the scientific community for his unorthodox theories. Landford hired him to analyze the symbols on the cover stone placed over the Stargate when the ancient Egyptians buried it. Two weeks later he found the answer, and Langford bore witness to the shimmering pool of the event horizon within the Stargate when it was activated for the first time in over 50 years.

The first mission was a success, and Langford retired to her home as the Stargate was decommissioned and transferred to the Cheyenne Mountain facility. Over a year later, Jackson, who had returned from Abydos, arrived at her doorstep to inform her that the Stargate had been reactivated -- and can go to many other worlds. Catherine was initially angry that he had kept the existence of the Stargate program from her, as the gate had been her life's work.

Jackson brought her back to the S.G.C., where she joined SG-1 in travelling to a world where they believed her lost love, Ernest, would be found. Catherine and Ernest returned to Earth together to live out their lives in happiness.