Esau (Katherine) Collection, 1932-1971

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Summary

Title:
Katherine Esau Collection
Dates:
1932-1971
Creators:
Esau, Katherine, 1898-1997.
Abstract:
The Katherine Esau Collection documents Dr. Esau’s activities as a professor of plant pathology at University of California, Davis (1933-1950) and author of Plant Anatomy (1953), Viruses in Plant Hosts (1968), and The Phloem (1969), among others.
Extent:
2 linear feet
Language:
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Katherine Esau Collection, D-120, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains materials from 1932-1971 and includes reprints and reviews of numerous works on botanical anatomy and morphology.

Biographical / historical:

Dr. Katherine Esau was a prominent botanist who specialized in pathological plant anatomy. Her standing as one of the most influential plant biologists and professors is widely acknowledged. Dr. Esau arguably wrote the book on the topic with her classic textbook, Plant Anatomy, which had worldwide impact when it was published in 1953. It was a foundational reference for students and scientists for decades and her pioneering work continues to drive research. Dr. Esau was affiliated with UC Davis both as a student and a faculty member for 31 years. Katherine Esau was born in modern day Ukraine April 3, 1898. Following the Bolshevik Revolution, Esau and her family escaped to Berlin where she became a student at the Agricultural College of Berlin. In 1922, the Esau family relocated to California where they lived in a Mennonite community in Reedly. Esau gained employment on a seed production ranch in Oxnard, California in 1923 and later worked for the Spreckels Sugar Company where she worked on sugar beet resistance to the curly top virus. In 1927, Esau was employed as a graduate assistant at University of California, Davis where she worked in the Botany Division. Dr. Esau specialized in research related to the effect of viruses on plants. She also did important research on plant phloem tissue, a topic on which she became a leading expert. In 1931, Dr. Esau earned her PhD from UC Berkeley and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Dr. Esau immediately went to work for UC Davis as a junior botanist in the Agricultural Experiment Station in the College of Agriculture. Dr. Esau contributed greatly to the field of plant anatomy. Two of her works, Plant Anatomy (1953) and Anatomy of Seed Plants (1960), are considered iconic texts on the subject. In 1951, Dr. Esau was elected president of the Botanical Society of America. Through collaboration with botanist Vernon Cheadle, Dr. Esau made great contributions to phloem research, incorporating the use of the electron microscope into her research. In 1957, Esau became the sixth woman ever elected to the National Academy of Sciences. After 31 years, Dr. Esau left UC Davis to work at UC Santa Barbara in order to further collaborate with Vernon Cheadle. In 1964, Dr. Esau was elected to the American Philosophical Society. In 1989, Dr. Esau was awarded the National Medal of Science by President George H.W. Bush. Katherine Esau passed away on June 4, 1997, at the age of 99.

Processing information:

The biography was written by Sacramento State Public History graduate student Samuel Ruttenburg. Michelle Trujillo updated this finding aid in 2026.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid created by UC Davis, Special Collections staff.
Date Prepared:
July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using Record Express for OAC5 on July 14, 2025, 2:54 p.m.

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

All applicable copyrights for the collection are protected under chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code. Requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California as the owner of the physical items. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Katherine Esau Collection, D-120, Archives and Special Collections, UC Davis Library, University of California, Davis.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Davis, Special Collections, UC Davis Library
100 NW Quad
Davis, CA 95616-5292, US
Contact:
(530) 752-1621
speccoll@ucdavis.edu
Website