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Carl Linnaeus
Portrait of Linnaeus on a brown background with the word "Linne" in the top right corner
Carl von Linné, Alexander Roslin, 1775
(oil on canvas, Gripsholm Castle)
Born (1707-05-23)23 May 1707
Råshult, Stenbrohult parish (now within Älmhult Municipality), Sweden
Died 10 January 1778(1778-01-10) (aged 70)
Hammarby (estate), Danmark parish (outside Uppsala), Sweden
Resting place Uppsala Cathedral
Nationality Swedish
Alma mater
Known for
Spouse(s)
Sara Elisabeth Moraea
(m. 1739)
Children 7
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions Uppsala University
Thesis Dissertatio medica inauguralis in qua exhibetur hypothesis nova de febrium intermittentium causa (1735)
Notable students Peter Ascanius
Author abbrev. (botany) L.
Author abbrev. (zoology) Linnaeus
Signature
Carl v. Linné

Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778) was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist who created the binomial nomenclature. In this system, every kind of animal and plant is given a name consisting of two Latin words, for its genus and species. This became used by biologists all over the world, so he is known as the "father of modern taxonomy". He was a good linguist, and famous in his time. He was made a noble by the Swedish king.

Biography

Early life

Carl was born in Sweden. He was going to be a priest, but did not do well enough in school for that. Instead, Carl studied at a college for botany because he liked it. He studied in Lund and tried to improve the garden there. He later went to another college.

Travels and research

In 1733 Linnaeus met Sara Lisa Moraeus and dressed up in the traditional Sami kolt to impress on her, but her father didn't want to give her away in marriage before Linnaeus earned his degree in medicine and could prove that he could earn enough money for a family.

In 1735 Linnaeus moved to the Netherlands, for three years. Here he earned his degree in medicine. He also published his book on plant classification.

Later he moved to Stockholm and practiced as a doctor. On the 23rd of July 1739 Linnaeus married Sara Morea in Stockholm.

Throughout the 1740s he conducted many field trips to places in Sweden to name plants and animals. When not on travels, Linnaeus worked on his classification, so it would work for plants, animals, and minerals.

The Swedish king Adolf Fredrik made Linnaeus a noble in 1757, and Linnaeus took the last name von Linné, later often signing just Carl Linné.

Last years

After he was made a noble, he continued teaching and writing. His reputation had spread over the world, and he talked with many different people. Linnaeus was upset by weak health, and he had gout and tooth aches. A stroke in 1774 weakened him, and two years later he had another, losing the use of his right side. He died on January 1778 and was buried in Uppsala cathedral.

Mankind

Linnaeus classified man as among the primates, which was already well understood by anthropologists. It attracted the criticism of the Swedish church. The Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala accused him of "impiety".

Linnaeus recognised four races in the human species. These were European whites, American reds (Native Americans), Asian browns, and African blacks. Blumenbach's classification was similar, with the addition of a Mongolian (= Chinese) or yellow race. Thus recognition of man's position as a primate and the existence of races was quite widespread before the theory of evolution was formulated.

Commemoration

Anniversaries of Linnaeus's birth have been marked by major celebrations. Linnaeus has appeared on numerous Swedish postage stamps and banknotes. There are numerous statues of Linnaeus in countries around the world. The Linnean Society of London has awarded the Linnean Medal for excellence in botany or zoology since 1888.

Following approval by the Riksdag of Sweden, Växjö University and Kalmar College merged on 1 January 2010 to become Linnaeus University.

Other things named after Linnaeus include the twinflower genus Linnaea, Linnaeosicyos (a monotypic genus in the family Cucurbitaceae), the crater Linné on the Earth's moon, a street in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the cobalt sulfide mineral Linnaeite.

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See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Carlos Linneo para niños

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