Persons, Collections and Topics
Esau, Katherine, 1898–1997
HI Archives collection no. 71
Papers, 1946 and n.d.
.25 linear feet (1 folder)
Biographical Note
Pioneering plant anatomist Katherine Esau (1898–1997) was a professor of botany at the University of California, Davis. Later she conducted research at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1989 she received the National Medal of Science for her work on plant anatomy.
Scope and Contents Note
This collection includes the correspondence (four letters, 1946) of Esau and Gilbert M. Smith (1885–1959) of Stanford University, concerning a possible arrangement between them for a book on the morphology of angiosperms, based on Esau's revisions of Smith's notes. The book that did result was Esau's Plant Anatomy (New York, Wiley, 1953). The collection also contains undated notes (6 typescript pages) on morphology.
Finding aid
A finding aid for this collection is available online.
Other resources
For information about portraits of and biographical citations for this subject, see the Hunt Institute Archives Register of Botanical Biography and Iconography database.