Willis Linn Jepson

{{Infobox person

|name = Willis Linn Jepson

|image = Willis Linn Jepson00.jpg

|caption = Jepson in 1911

|birth_date = {{birth date|1867|08|19|mf=y}}

|birth_place = Vacaville, California, U.S.

|death_date = {{Death date and age|1946|11|07|1867|08|19|mf=y}}

|death_place = Berkeley, California, U.S.

|alma_mater = University of California, Berkeley

|occupation = Botanist, conservationist

|notable_works = #{{harvid (1909)

}}

Willis Linn Jepson (August 19, 1867 – November 7, 1946) was a late-19th and 20th century California botanist, professor, conservationist, and writer. A co-founder of the Sierra Club in 1892, he was much honored in later life for his research and impact on his fields.

Career

Jepson was born at Little Oak Ranch near Vacaville, California. He became interested in botany as a boy and explored the adjacent San Francisco Bay Area, coming into contact with various botanists before he entered college.

In 1892, at the age of 25, Jepson, John Muir, and Warren Olney formed the Sierra Club, in Olney's San Francisco law office. From 1895 to 1898, Jepson served as instructor in Botany and carried on research at the University of California, Berkeley, Cornell University (1895), and Harvard University (1896–1897). He received his Ph.D. at Berkeley in 1899.{{Cite web|title=Jepson Herbarium: Willis Linn Jepson-The Botany Man|url=https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/history/biog/jepson/jepson_the_botany_man.html|access-date=2021-09-15|website=ucjeps.berkeley.edu}}{{Cite web|title=Jepson Herbarium: Obituary of Willis Linn Jepson (1867-1946)|url=https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/history/biog/jepson/jepson_obit.html|access-date=2021-09-15|website=ucjeps.berkeley.edu}}

He was made assistant professor in 1899, associate professor in 1911, professor in 1918, and professor emeritus in 1937. He was a professor of botany at UC Berkeley for four decades, thus his entire career was identified with the University of California. Jepson founded the California Botanical Society and served as its president from 1913 to 1915; he also worked as councilor of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden.

Legacy

Many honors and commemorations came to Jepson during his lifetime and as well as posthumously:

He was granted a fellowship to the California Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Geographical Society
Member of the American Genetic Association, American Society of Plant Taxonomists, Botanical Society of America, Society of American Foresters, Washington Academy of Sciences, Western Society of Naturalists, Phi Beta Kappa, and Sigma Xi
Foreign member of the Royal Society of Arts, Société linnéenne de Lyon, and Czechoslovak Botanical Society
Colleagues at UC Berkeley honored him with the Faculty Research Lectureship in 1934
The Saxifragaceae genus Jepsonia and its species are named after him
The Jepson Herbarium at UC Berkeley is named for him
The Jepson Manual, a flora of the vascular plants of California, is named in his honor
California's Jepson Peak,{{cite hps |id=24G |name=Jepson Peak |accessdate=2014-03-02}} Mount Jepson,{{Cite journal|last=Smith|first=James|date=2019-12-01|title=Willis Linn Jepson|url=https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/botany_jps/87|journal=Botanical Studies}} and Jepson Prairie{{Cite web|title=Jepson Prairie Reserve|date=July 21, 2015 |url=https://ucnrs.org/reserves/jepson-prairie-reserve/|access-date=2021-09-15|language=en-US}} are named after him
The oldest known living laurel tree in California is named after him."https://parks.smcgov.org/what-see-crystal-springs-trail What to See on Crystal Springs Trail." San Mateo County. Accessed November 28, 2021.

= Publications =

Jepson wrote at least 11 books during his lifetime, with two focused on California's trees. His works include A Flora of California (1909), The Trees of California (1909); and the major A Manual of the Flowering Plants of California (1925), predecessor of The Jepson Manual (1993).

{{cite book|last = Jepson|first = W. L.|display-authors = 0|date = 1909a|title = A Flora of California – Volume I|title-link = :iarchive:floraofcaliforni01jeps|location = San Francisco|publisher = Cunningham, Curtiss & Welch|oclc = 755039635}}
{{cite book|last = Jepson|first = W. L.|display-authors = 0|date = 1909b|title = A Flora of California – Volume II|title-link = :iarchive:floraofcaliforni02jeps|location = San Francisco|publisher = Cunningham, Curtiss & Welch|oclc = 755039635}}

References

= Footnotes =

= Bibliography =

{{cite journal|last = Beidleman|first = R. G.|date = 2000|title = Willis Linn Jepson—"The Botany Man"|journal = Madroño|volume = 47|issue = 4|pages = 273–286|jstor = 41426286}}
{{cite journal|last = Constance|first = L.|author-link = Lincoln Constance|date = June 1947|title = Willis Linn Jepson, 1867–1946|journal = Science|volume = 105|issue = 2737|page = 614|doi = 10.1126/science.105.2737.614|pmid = 17788560|bibcode = 1947Sci...105..614C|doi-access = free}}
{{cite web|last = Davis|first = A. R.|display-authors = etal|date = 1946|title = Willis Linn Jepson (1867–1946)|url = https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/history/biog/jepson/jepson_obit.html|work = Jepson Herbarium|publisher = UC Berkeley|access-date = 2020-11-15|df = mdy-all}}