[1] Catherine, also known as Kitty, was born in New York City, New York, the daughter of Alice Caroline (née Merriam) and Charles Woodard Atwater,[2] a lawyer who later served as the Consul General for Siam and the granddaughter of Wilbur Olin Atwater, the inventor of the calorimeter and chemist known for his studies of human metabolism and nutrition.
She then took graduate courses in German language at the University of Munich, where she lived in the same rooming house-dormitory as Unity Mitford, a girlfriend of Adolf Hitler.
[1] Her son James wrote an essay while in fourth grade about the work his parents did, which included a detailed description of his father's job and concluded that "Mother doesn't do much".
In response, Galbraith wrote an article in the May 1963 issue of The Atlantic Monthly, titled "'Mother Doesn't Do Much':The Ambassador's Wife in India", describing her role in running the household and entertaining distinguished guests.
[6] For more than two decades, the Galbraiths held an annual party after the Harvard University commencement that often included Nobel prize laureates and heads of state.