Phyllis Draper, born on August 22, 1907,[1] was a paleoecologist most notable for developing the first pollen diagram in North America in 1928. She began her career as a graduate student under Paul Sears, the chair of the botany department at the University of Oklahoma. Sears gave his students the freedom to explore unique topics in order to design their own theses.[2] Draper took advantage of this, and during her time working and studying under Sears, she published two major papers entitled, "A Demonstration of the Technique of Pollen Analysis"[3] and "A Comparison of Pollen Spectra of Old and Young Bogs in the Erie Basin."[4] She believed that the fossil pollen could be used to make inferences about the climates of specific regions. Her first pollen graph showed the pollen in New Haven Bog, which included pteridophyte spores, grasses, pines, oak, and larch, and unknown pollen. She later updated this pollen diagram and developed another one for the Curtis Bog. Draper graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1929 with an M.S. in botany.[5] She died on August 8, 2000.[1]