University of California: In Memoriam, 1995
David Appleman, Botany and Plant Biochemistry: Los Angeles
| 1899-1995 | |
| Professor of Plant Physiology, Emeritus |
David Appleman and UCLA virtually grew up together. When David Appleman died in March, 1995 at the age of 95, he had spent 68 years in association with the University of California--as student, faculty member, and loyal alumnus. When he came to UCLA in 1933 as a Research Assistant in Subtropical Horticulture, the fledgling UCLA campus in Westwood was but four years removed from its Vermont Avenue site in Los Angeles, and the branch of the College of Agriculture at Los Angeles was still in its infancy.
Born in a small village in Russia, David moved with his family to Winnepeg, Canada when he was 11 years old. After but two years in a simple elementary school he graduated from the eighth grade. Thereafter he went to Saskatchewan, where he first supported himself teaching Judaism to the children of a local family. Later he settled a 120-acre homestead with a local blacksmith. While a homesteader, he taught Hebrew to monks of a nearby monastery, who wished to read the Bible in Hebrew. In 1921 he returned to Winnepeg, and, sensing the need of further education moved to New York City where he earned his living as an electrician's apprentice while simultaneously--by home study--preparing himself for the State of New York Regent's Examination and the College Boards. He passed both examinations with no formal high school training, and thereupon, in 1923, departed for California and enrolled in chemistry on the Berkeley campus, graduating with honors in 1927.
David did his dissertation research with Professor J.P. Bennett in the Department of Plant Nutrition in the College of Agriculture at Berkeley, while at the same time serving as a Research Assistant to Professor W.H. Chandler in the Department of Subtropical Horticulture. When a
David Appleman's research at UCLA centered first on the nitrogen nutrition of citrus plants, with ancillary studies on the growth in culture of the unicellular alga, Chlorella. The end in view in the latter case was the development of a potential source of edible protein which might be produced where land availability or economic strictures precluded conventional agriculture. Eventually his subsequent lifelong research devolved surprisingly on mammalian cancer biology. The seemingly unlikely incentive resulted from the observation that a prevalent herbicide, namely amitrole, or 3-amino-1,2,4 triazole, evoked the same effect on liver and kidney as did the onset of cancerous tumors. Specifically, both suppressed the activity of a critical enzyme, catalase, that catalyzed the destruction of hydrogen peroxide. The significance and further pursuit of this trenchant observation held his attention well into retirement--David arriving at the laboratory every day till, towards the end of his life, his physical condition made it impossible to continue this practice.
Throughout his years of active service he taught courses in soils and plant nutrition, and unstintingly advised students and counseled colleagues. His piercing rejoinder to students inquiring about the nature of examination questions each year was that the questions would be the same as heretofore, but the answers would be different, a measure of his high standards and determination to keep his presentations at the cutting edge.
David served the Academic Senate on many committees with skill and devotion through the years. His crowning achievement in behalf of UCLA came in 1945 when, in the role of Santa Monica resident, he took a two-week leave without pay from the University to oppose a Santa Monica ballot measure that would have allowed the University to relinquish ten acres of campus land earlier given to the University by the City of Santa Monica. The land in question was bought from the Janss company by the City of Santa Monica in 1925, and gifted to the Regents for the Westwood campus, to be used for the establishment of a teaching and research orchard as part of the College of Agriculture. When, in 1945, the Janss company wished to reacquire the land for
As it happened, David Appleman, together with the then-president of the League of Women Voters in Santa Monica, and the help of a legion of volunteer high school students, caused some 15,000 postcards opposing the ballot measure to be sent to Santa Monica residents. The measure lost by a vote of three to one. The Regents had strongly favored the land swap; in consequence David Appleman was the only visible faculty presence openly in opposition. Nevertheless, the outcome was heartily welcomed by the majority of the UCLA faculty, as well as by the campus and Statewide administrations alike.
Next to his family and the University, David's greatest love was the High Sierras, where he spent many summers hiking and camping with his children and his wife, Wynona. When circumstances precluded visits to the high country, David roamed the Santa Monica Mountains. His respect and love for the outdoors has been carried on; he is survived by three sons--Daniel, a geophysicist, Jerry, a cellist with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and Michael, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Southern California, as well as several grandchildren.
David Appleman enriched the University of California and his beloved Westwood campus. His memory continues to nourish those who knew him.
Courtesy of University Archives, The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000; http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/info
http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=hb238nb0fs&brand=calisphere
Title: 1995, University of California: In Memoriam
By: University of California (System) Academic Senate, Author
Date: 1995
Contributing Institution: University Archives, The Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-6000; http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/info
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University of California Regents
Academic Senate-Berkeley Division, University of California, 320 Stephens Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-5842