10 Feb 1917. Johanna Westerdijk is appointed the Netherland’s first female professor.
In 1917, she was appointed as the first female professor in the Netherlands, serving as associate professor of plant pathology in Utrecht University and in 1930 at the University of Amsterdam, with a total of 55 Ph.D. students earning their degrees under her supervision in a period of 35 years. Almost half of them were women, being a source of inspiration for students interested in the history of women in science.
She wrote over 70 publications covering a broad spectrum of plant diseases and mycology, but her main interest was in pathogenic diseases of trees and physiological diseases of plants and how to control them. Several of her publications involved trials of chemicals for disease control.
Johanna Westerdijk was described by journalists as a young, natural, simple, and strong woman with a pleasant manner and a great sense of humor. She was also known by her close friends as loving to party, drink, and dance and without an interest in marriage