Johanna Westerdijk
| Johanna Westerdijk | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
4 January 1883 Nieuwer-Amstel, Netherlands |
| Died |
15 November 1961 (aged 78) Baarn, Netherlands |
| Fields | Plant pathology |
| Institutions |
Utrecht University University of Amsterdam |
| Alma mater |
University of Amsterdam University of Munich University of Zurich (PhD) |
| Doctoral advisor | Hans Schinz |
| Author abbrev. (botany) | Westerd. |
Johanna Westerdijk (Dutch pronunciation: [joːˈɦɑnaː ˈʋɛstərˌdɛik]; 4 January 1883 – 15 November 1961) was a Dutch plant pathologist and the first female professor in the Netherlands.[1]
Life and career
Johanna Westerdijk was born on 4 January 1883 in Nieuwer-Amstel (present-day Amstelveen) in the Netherlands. She was the daughter of Bernard Westerdijk and Aleida Catharina Scheffer.[2]
At the age of 17, she entered the University of Amsterdam and attended the lectures of Hugo de Vries. She went on to work in the laboratory of Professor Goebel at Munich. Later under the study of Hans Schinz at the University of Zurich, she obtained her doctoral degree with these on the regeneration of mosses.[1]
In 1906, she was offered the directorship of Willie Commelin Scholten Laboratory and in 1907 took on the curation of what came to be known as the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (Central Bureau of Fungus Cultures). Under her direction this collection grew from 80 cultures, to 10,000 strains from 6,500 different fungal species. In 1917, she was appointed as professor of plant pathology at Utrecht University. In 1930, she also became a professor at University of Amsterdam. Her research interests focused around parasitic disease of trees and physiological disease of plants. She served as president of the International Federation of University Women and Netherlands Phytopathological Society (1945–1951).[1]
Westerdijk died on 15 November 1961, at the age of 78, in her laboratory apartment in Baarn in the Netherlands.[1]
Honours and awards
- Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences[3]
- Fellow of the Linnean Society of London[3]
- Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands)[4]
- Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion (Netherlands)[3]
- Knight in the Order of Saint James of the Sword (Portugal)[3]
- Otto Appel Medal (1953)[3]
- Honorary doctorate of the Uppsala University (1957)[3]
- Honorary doctorate of the University of Giessen (1958)[3]
Eponymous species
Several fungus species have been name in honour of Westerdijk, including:
- Aspergillus westerdijkiae Frisvad & Samson (2004)
- Helicodendron westerdijkiae Beverw. (1953)
- Pestalotiopsis westerdykiae Steyaert (1949)
- Gyrothyrium westerdijkiae Arx (1950) (now called Schizothyrium pomi)
- Torulopsis westerdijkiae E.K.Novák & Vitéz (1964)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Kerling, L. C. P.; ten Houten, J. G.; de Bruin-Brink, G. "Johanna Westerdijk: Pioneer Leader in Plant Pathology". Annual Review of Phytopathology 24 (1): 33–41. doi:10.1146/annurev.py.24.090186.000341.
- ↑ "Westerdijk, Johanna". Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland. Huygens. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 J. G. ten Houten, "Obituary Notice, Johanna Westerdijk, 1883-1961", Journal of General Microbiology (1963), 32, pp. 1–9. Retrieved on 9 March 2015.
- ↑ (Dutch) "Eerste vrouwelijke hoogleraar professor Johanna Westerdijk overleden", Utrechtsch Nieuwsblad, 1961. Retrieved on 9 March 2015.
- ↑ "Author Query for 'Westerd.'". International Plant Names Index.
External links
-
Media related to Johanna Westerdijk at Wikimedia Commons
|