Mary Winifred Aitken (née Betts; 11 May 1894 – 29 April 1971) was a New Zealand botanist.
Betts was appointed university lecturer in botany in 1920 at age 25, the first woman to earn that designation.
[4] She was described by the pre-eminent botanist Leonard Cockayne as “the most brilliant woman scientist in New Zealand".
[4] In December 1923, the couple moved to Scotland so her husband could pursue his academic career; subsequently, he was named professor of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh.
[6] In 2017, Betts was selected as one of the Royal Society of New Zealand's "150 women in 150 words".