K. G. (Katherine Golden) Bitting

Born in Canada in 1869 and later raised in the United States, Katherine Golden Bitting built a career at the intersection of science, public health, and writing. She became known as a food chemist and bacteriologist whose work focused on food preservation, especially canning and the safety of processed foods.

Bitting worked for the United States Department of Agriculture and later for the National Canners Association. She wrote extensively on preservation methods and related topics, helping translate laboratory research into practical guidance during a period when standards for food safety were rapidly evolving.

She is also remembered for her deep interest in culinary literature. Along with her husband, Arvill Wayne Bitting, she assembled an important collection of gastronomy books that was later given to the Library of Congress. She died in 1937, but her legacy still connects science, libraries, and the history of food.