- "Catherine Langford was more than just kind and generous. She had a gift of an endless, open-minded, child-like curiosity. She saw the world not for what it was, but for what it could be, and she saw potential in people that others failed to recognize. Like her father before her, her contributions to science have changed the world more than most people know. I, for one, have no idea where I would be today if I'd never met her. She changed my life in more ways than I ever could have imagined."
- ―Daniel Jackson at Catherine Langford's funeral.
Catherine Langford was the daughter of the archaeologist Professor Paul Langford.
Biography
1945
Much of her life was influenced by a curious discovery her father made on the Giza plateau in 1928. She took her Eye of Ra medallion from the dig at that time. Catherine's father and her fiancee, Ernest Littlefield, did experiments on his unusual discovery in 1945. Catherine's father told her Ernest died in an accident, but in reality he traveled through the mysterious ring to another planet and was presumed lost. (SG1: "The Torment of Tantalus")
1969
In 1969, Catherine received a brief visit from two strangers, one of whom claimed to be the son of Andrek Gruber, her father's partner in the original dig in Giza and researcher on the Stargate in the 1940s. She was able to tell her visitors where the Stargate was currently being stored. In reality, the visitors were Captain Samantha Carter and Dr. Daniel Jackson who, along with Teal'c and Colonel Jack O'Neill, had been accidentally transported back in time. It's possible that Jackson and Carter's visit prompted Catherine to begin pressing the military to reopen its research on the Stargate. (SG1: "1969")
1996
In 1996, Daniel Jackson discovered the artifact was a Stargate and that it could take people and objects to other planets. She hired Daniel Jackson to open the Stargate and gave him her medallion for good luck. He sent it back to her with O'Neill and when he next saw her, she had in fact gotten it back. (Stargate)
1997
In 1997, Daniel discovered that Ernest Littlefield was still alive and informed Catherine. She acompanied SG-1 to the planet Heliopolis. Once there she was reunited with Ernest and they traveled back to Earth together. (SG1: "The Torment of Tantalus")
2005
Catherine died in 2005. Many of her possessions were left to Daniel Jackson including her Eye of Ra medallion and her entire collection of artifacts which ultimately led to a Zero Point Module. Her niece said that Daniel was like a son to her. (SG1: "Moebius, Part 1")
Alternate realities
- In an alternate reality where Daniel Jackson refused to join the Stargate program, Dr. Catherine Langford supervised the team that discovered how to make the gate work. She continued to head the SGA until Apophis' forces invaded Earth. She was killed in the invasion of Cheyenne Mountain. When Daniel thanked her for helping him get home, she said since he helped the her from his reality reunite with Ernest Littlefield, she considered them even in the grand scheme of things. (SG1: "There But for the Grace of God")
Notes
- Claims to have been 21 years old in 1945, placing her birth in 1923/1924.