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. Fern Pfafflin was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin, on January 8, 1930.

[2] She was raised on a family farm near New Amsterdam, Wisconsin, attending a one-room rural schoolhouse.

[1] Pfafflin attended Carleton College and received her bachelor's degree in 1952, majoring in chemistry and zoology.

[2] After graduating, Rathe worked as a biochemist for Merck and Company in Rahway, New Jersey, as a part of the research team of Karl August Folkers.

[1] 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.