Fern P. Rathe

Fern Pfafflin Rathe (January 8, 1930 – September 27, 2013) was an American organic chemist who helped discover cathomycin, an antibiotic used to treat strains of the bacteria Staphylococcus, while working at pharmaceutical company Merck & Co.

Early life and education

Fern Pfafflin was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on January 8, 1930. She was the only child of Edward and Bessie (Chalsma) Pfafflin. She was raised on a family farm near New Amsterdam, Wisconsin, attending a one-room rural schoolhouse. The antibiotic was crystallized for the first time at Rathe's lab bench.

She worked at the Merck Research Lab until she started her family in 1956.

Later life

Rathe lived with her husband and four children in Moline, Illinois. She earned her private pilot license with a twin-engine rating. Rathe was an active member of the Ninety-Nines organization for female pilots, and in 1971 she flew co-pilot in the Powder Puff Derby Air Race.

Rathe died in Guttenberg, Iowa, on September 27, 2013, after living with advanced Parkinson's disease.