Betsy Bang
Betsy Bang was an American biologist, scientific and medical illustrator, and translator from the Bengali language. Her work was important in confirming that many bird species have a sense of smell, a question that had long remained unsettled. She took to scientific research in ornithology late, beginning by helping her husband Fred Bang with illustrations for his medical work. By detailed dissections she uncovered the olfactory systems in many species of bird.
Her works included Anatomy of a Gorilla, Functional Anatomy of the Olfactory System in 23 Orders of Birds and The Old Woman and the Red Pumpkin: A Bengali Folk Tale.
She met Fred Bang when they were students at Johns Hopkins University and married him in 1940. Their children included Caroline, Axel and Molly, who illustrated her translations of folk tales.
She died at her home in Woods Hole, Massachusetts on October 31, 2003.
