Kate Douglas Wiggin (September 28, 1856August 24, 1923) was an American educator, author and composer. She wrote children's stories, most notably the classic children's novel "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm," and composed collections of children's songs. She started the first free kindergarten in San Francisco in 1878 (the Silver Street Free Kindergarten). With her sister during the 1880s, she also established a training school for kindergarten teachers. Kate Wiggin devoted her adult life to the welfare of children in an era when children were commonly thought of as cheap labor.