Betsy Bang

Betsy Bang died at her home in Woods Hole, Massachusetts on October 31, 2003 at 91 years of age.

Her husband, Fred Bang, was appointed the director of the Johns Hopkins Centers for Medical Research Training in India and Bangladesh from 1961 to 1976. While there, Betsy Bang became interested in the culture of the Indian subcontinent and learned to read Bengali. She used her knowledge to translate folk tales, which she published in English. She also researched and wrote widely about Sitala, the Hindu goddess for curing poxes, sores, and diseases.

Betsy Bang moved to Woods Hole, Massachusetts after her husband's death. The Bangs had a long association with the Marine Biological Laboratory there having first arrived in 1952 to conduct research; they returned for many summers thereafter to work. In Woods Hole, Betsy volunteered and conducted tours at the laboratory and helped computerize its vast catalog of books. She also volunteered at the town's public library until she was 90.

The children of Betsy and Fred Bang included Caroline (1941–1996), Axel and Molly, who illustrated her translations of folk tales and is listed as co-author.

In 1940, they married, and eventually he was named chairman of the parasitology department at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene. She created illustrations for some of his medical work and they published several papers together. He died in 1981.

Born in Lancaster, North Carolina, Betsy Garrett was raised in Washington D.C., enrolled in public schools there and earned her bachelor's degree from George Washington University in 1933.

Betsy Bang née Garrett (1912–2003) was an American biologist, scientific and medical illustrator. She also translated folk tales from Bengali to English. Her scientific work was notable for her finding that many bird species have a sense of smell, a question that had long remained unsettled. Her works included Functional Anatomy of the Olfactory System in 23 Orders of Birds, published in 1971.