Carl Linnaeus, Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as 
Carl von
Linné?, (May 13, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish
botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the
foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. He is known as the "father of
modern taxonomy." He is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology (see History of ecology).
He was the most renowned botanist of his time, and one of the most acclaimed scientists of the era. The French philosopher
Jean-Jacques Rousseau sent him the message: "Tell him I know no greater man on
earth."[3] The German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote: "With the exception of Shakespeare and Spinoza, I know no one among the no longer
living who has influenced me more strongly."[3]
Swedish author August Strindberg wrote: "Linnaeus was in reality a poet who happened
to become a naturalist".[4]
Name
The name of this botanist comes in different variants: 'Carl Linnaeus', 'Carolus Linnaeus' and 'Carl von Linné', sometimes
just 'Carl Linné'. There is often confusion about his real Swedish name, as opposed to the Latinized form 'Carolus Linnaeus' he
used most when he published his scientific works in Latin.
In Linnaeus' time, most Swedes had no surnames. Linnaeus' grandfather was named Ingemar Bengtsson (son of Bengt), according to
Scandinavian tradition. Linnaeus' father was known as Nils Ingemarsson (son of Ingemar). Only for registration purposes, for
example when matriculating at a university, one needed a surname. In the academic world, Latin was the language of choice, so
when Linnaeus' father went to the University of Lund, he coined himself a Latin surname:
Linnaeus, referring to a large linden (lime) tree,[5] the warden tree of the family property Linnagård
(linn being an archaic form of Swedish lind, the linden). Nils Ingemarsson
Linnaeus gave his son the name Carl. So the Swedish name of the boy was Carl Linnaeus.[6]
When Carl Linnaeus enrolled in private school as student at the University of Lund, he was registered as 'Carolus Linnaeus'.
This Latinized form was the name he used when he published his works in Latin. After he was ennobled, in 1761,[7] he took the name Carl von Linné. 'Linné' is thus a shortened version of
'Linnaeus', 'von' is added to signify his ennoblement.
Signature of Carolus Linnaeus (who at the time wrote it as Carl v. Linné).
When referring to or citing the author Linnaeus, it is appropriate to use 'Carl Linnaeus', 'Carolus Linnaeus' or just
'Linnaeus'. 'Carl von Linné' seems to be less suitable, especially for the works he published before 1762. On the title page of
the second edition of Species plantarum (1762) the author's name is still printed as 'Carolus Linnaeus' (or rather the
genitive form 'Caroli Linnaei') but from then on, his name is quite consistently printed
as 'Carolus a Linne' or 'Carl von Linné'. Stafleu[2] uses 'Carl Linnaeus' as the author's name for all his works. In Sweden, he is commonly known by
his ennobled name Carl von Linné.
The adjectival form of his name is usually 'Linnaean', but the prestigious Linnean
Society of London has a journal The Linnean, awards the Linnean Medal, and
so on.
Biography
Early life
Statue of Linné outside the city library in
Lund
Linnaeus was born on the farm Råshult, located in Älmhult Municipality, in the province of Småland in southern
Sweden, on May 23 1707. He was
groomed as a youth to be a churchman, walking in his father's path, but showed little enthusiasm for it. In 1717 he was sent to
the primary school at the city Växjö, and in 1724 he passed to the gymnasium there, but with
meager results in the clerical faculty. Instead his interest in botany made an impression on a
local physician, who realized there might be a future in the field for the young Linnaeus, and on his recommendation Linnaeus's
father sent his son to study at the closest university, Lund University. Linnaeus
studied in Lund and tried to make something of the botanical garden there, but because it had been neglected, it was suggested to
him that he would have better prospects at the University of Uppsala; Linnaeus left
for Uppsala within a year.[8]
His time in Uppsala was financially rough, until he became acquainted with the renowned scientist Olof Celsius, uncle of astronomer Anders Celsius, who came up with
the temperature scale that was given his name. Celsius, impressed with Linnaeus's knowledge and botanical collections, offered
him board and lodging.[8]
During this period, he came upon a work which ultimately led to the establishment of his artificial system of plant
classification. This was a review of Sébastien Vaillant's Sermo de Structura
Florum (Leiden, 1718), a thin quarto in French and Latin. Through this, he became convinced of the importance of the
stamens and pistils, about which he wrote a short treatise on the
sexes of plants in 1729. This caught the attention of Olof Rudbeck the Younger
(1660-1740), the professor of botany in the university, who subsequently appointed Linnaeus his adjunct. In 1730, Linnaeus began giving lectures in the faculty.[8]
In 1732 the Academy of Sciences at Uppsala financed Linnaeus on an expedition to
Lappland in northernmost Sweden, then virtually unknown. The result of this was first
The Florula Lapponica (the first work to use the Sexual System) and later the Flora Lapponica published in 1737.
His journey to sub-Arctic Lapland is notable for exotic and adventurous episodes.
He married Sara Elisabeth Morea and had seven children, Carolus,
Elisabeth, Sara Magdalena, Lovisa, Sara Christina, Johannes and Sophie.
Travel and research
![Carl Linnaeus dressed in Lapp costume. Portraited while in Netherlands, by Martin Hoffman in Hartecamp, 1737 [9]](http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/5/5f/180px-Carl_Linnaeus_dressed_as_a_Laplander.jpg)
Carl Linnaeus dressed in Lapp costume. Portraited while in Netherlands, by Martin Hoffman in
Hartecamp, 1737
[9]
In 1735 Linnaeus moved to the Netherlands, where he was to spend the next three years.
Here he earned his only academic degree, at the University of Harderwijk, in 6
days. This degree in Medicine consisted of a three day printing job of his botanical notes in Latin. He met with botanist
Jan Frederik Gronovius and showed him a draft of his work on taxonomy, the
Systema Naturae. This was published in the Netherlands the same year, as an
eleven page work. [8] Linnaeus stayed in the
Netherlands for 12 months, until he made a journey to London in 1736, where he visited Oxford University and met several highly regarded people, such as the physicist Hans Sloane, the botanist Philip Miller and the professor of botany
J. J. Dillenius. The journey lasted a few months, after which he returned to Amsterdam, and continued the printing of his
Genera Plantarum, the starting point of his taxonomy.
View of Hartekamp from the Leiden-Haarlem canal, with the famous '
Hortus
Cliffortianus' or garden of George Clifford in Heemstede as it is today
In 1737 Linnaeus spent a year studying and working on the Heemstede garden of
George Clifford, a wealthy Amsterdam banker introduced to him by Herman Boerhaave. Clifford had many business connections with Dutch merchants and collected plants from
around the world. His garden was famous. Linnaeus published the description of Clifford's garden as Hortus Cliffortianus. In 1738, the work was done, and he started his journey back home. On his
way he stayed in Leiden for a year, during which he had his Classes Plantarum printed;
then travelling to Paris, before setting sail for Stockholm.[8]
Back in Sweden
Returning to Sweden in 1738, he practiced medicine (specializing in the treatment of syphilis) and lectured in Stockholm
before being awarded a professorship at Uppsala in 1741. At Uppsala, in the University's botanical garden, he arranged the plants
according to his system of classification; he then made three more expeditions to various parts of Sweden and inspired a
generation of students. Linnaeus continued to revise his Systema Naturae, which grew from a slim pamphlet into a
multivolume work, as his ideas were changing and more and more plant and animal specimens were sent to him from every corner of
the globe. His pride in his work was very much evident; he thought of himself as a second Adam. He liked to say ' Deus
creavit, Linnaeus disposuit, ' Latin for, "God created, Linnaeus organized". This self-perception was further shown by the
artwork on the cover of his Systema Naturae, which depicts a man giving Linnaean names to new creatures as they are
created in the Garden of Eden.
Arriving in Stockholm, he settled as a physician. In September 1739 Linnaeus married Sara
Elisabeth Morea (Moræaus) and the marriage took place at her family farm Sveden outside Falun; Sara he had met on one of his
first scientific journeys to the county of Dalarna already five years earlier 1734. In 1739 he was one of the founders of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Kungliga vetenskapsakademin). In
1741 he ascended to the chair of medicine at Uppsala and moved there. The position was soon exchanged for the chair of
botany.[8]
In 1743-44, Linnaeus designed today's thermometer scale by reversing that invented by Anders
Celsius (1701-1744)--originally 100 was the melting point of ice and 0 water’s boiling point[2]. Throughout the 1740s he
conducted numerous field trips to many locations in Sweden to classify plants and animals: in 1741 to the Stora Alvaret on Öland and also to Gotland; in 1746 to Västergötland; and in 1749 to Scania including visits to the Kullaberg. The reports of each travel were
published in the Swedish language to be accessible for the general public. Apart from containing many important reports of common
life of that time, they have in recent years been appreciated for their fine treatment of the Swedish language, indeed putting
Linnaeus as one of the foremost Swedish writers of the 18th century.[10]
The Linnaean garden has been maintained and can still be visited in Uppsala today
When not on travels, Linnaeus worked on his classifications, extending them to the kingdom of animals and the kingdom of
minerals. The last may seem somewhat odd, but the theory of evolution was still a long time
away. Linnaeus was only attempting a convenient way of categorizing the elements of the natural world.
The Swedish king, Adolf Fredrik, ennobled Linnaeus in 1757, and after the
privy council finally had confirmed the ennoblement (in 1761 after a few years of discussions) Linnaeus took the surname von
Linné, later often signing just Carl Linné.
Last years
After his ennoblement, he continued teaching and writing. His reputation had spread over the world, and he corresponded with
many different people. For example, Catherine II of Russia sent him seeds from
her country.[11]
Of Linnaeus' children, five reached adult age: four girls and one boy. Only the boy, Carolus Linnaeus the Younger, was allowed to study. He did not have the same passion as his
father, but managed to make a reputation in botany. At the father's death, the son succeeded him as professor; however, he died
only five years later. The son is commonly referred to as filius (abbreviated "L. f.") to distinguish him from his famous
father.[11]
Linnaeus' last years were troubled by weak health, and he suffered from gout and tooth
aches.[11] A stroke in 1774 greatly weakened him, and two years later he suffered another, losing the use of his right side.
He died on January 1778 in Uppsala, during a ceremony in the Uppsala Cathedral. He was
buried in the cathedral.[8]
Linnaean taxonomy
-
Linnaeus's prime contribution to taxonomy was to establish conventions for the naming of living organisms that became
universally accepted in the scientific world--the work of Linnaeus represents the starting point of binomial nomenclature. In addition Linnaeus developed, during the great 18th century expansion of
natural history knowledge, what became known as the Linnaean taxonomy; the system of scientific classification now widely used in the biological
sciences.
The Linnaean system classified nature within a hierarchy, starting with three
kingdoms. Kingdoms were divided into Classes and they, in turn, into Orders, which
were divided into Genera (singular: genus), which were divided into Species (singular: species). Below the rank of species he
sometimes recognized taxa of a lower (unnamed) rank (for plants these are now called "varieties").
His groupings were based upon shared physical characteristics. Only his groupings for animals remain to this day, and the
groupings themselves have been significantly changed since Linnaeus' conception, as have the principles behind them.
Nevertheless, Linnaeus is credited with establishing the idea of a hierarchical structure of classification which is based upon
observable characteristics. While the underlying details concerning what are considered to be scientifically valid 'observable
characteristics' has changed with expanding knowledge (for example, DNA sequencing, unavailable in
Linnaeus' time, has proven to be a tool of considerable utility for classifying living organisms and establishing their
relationships to each other), the fundamental principle remains sound.
Mankind
Linnaeus presented a concept of 'race' as applied to humans, also including mythological
creatures. Within Homo sapiens he proposed four taxa of a lower (unnamed) rank. These categories were Americanus,
Asiaticus, Africanus and Europeanus. They were based on place of origin at first, and later on skin
colour.[citation needed] Each race had certain
characteristics that he considered endemic to individuals belonging to it. Native Americans were reddish, stubborn and easily
angered. Africans were black, relaxed and negligent. Asians were sallow, avaricious and easily distracted. Europeans were white,
gentle and inventive.[citation needed]
In addition, in Amoenitates academicae (1763), he defined Homo anthropomorpha as a catch-all term for a variety
of human-like mythological creatures, including the troglodyte, satyr, hydra, and phoenix. He
claimed that these creatures not only actually existed but were in reality inaccurate descriptions of real-world ape-like
creatures.
He also, in Systema Naturæ, defined Homo ferus as "four-footed, mute, hairy". Included in this classification
were Juvenis lupinus hessensis (wolf boys), who he thought were raised by animals,
Juvenis hannoveranus (Peter of Hanover) and Puella campanica
(Wild-girl of Champagne). He likewise defined Homo monstrosus as agile and
fainthearted, and included in this race the Patagonian giant, the dwarf
of the Alps, and the monorchid Hottentot.
Linnaeus' scientifical research took science on a path that diverged from what had been taught by religious authorities. The
Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala had accused him of "impiety." In a letter [3] to
Johann Georg Gmelin dated February 25,
1747, Linnaeus wrote:
|
Non placet, quod Hominem inter ant[h]ropomorpha collocaverim, sed homo noscit se ipsum. Removeamus vocabula. Mihi perinde
erit, quo nomine utamur. Sed quaero a Te et Toto orbe differentiam genericam inter hominem et Simiam, quae ex principiis
Historiae naturalis. Ego certissime nullam novi. Utinam aliquis mihi unicam diceret! Si vocassem hominem simiam vel vice versa
omnes in me conjecissem theologos. Debuissem forte ex lege artis.
|
|
It is not pleasing that I place Man among the primates, but man is intimately familiar
with himself. Let's not quibble over words. It will be the same to me whatever name we use. But I request from you and from the
whole world the generic difference between Man and Simian, and this from the principles of
Natural History. I certainly know of none. If only someone might tell me just one! If I
called man a simian or vice versa I would bring together all the theologians against me.
Perhaps I ought to, in accordance with the law of the discipline [of Natural History].
|
Bibliography
Systema Naturae
-
The first edition of Systema Naturae was printed in the Netherlands in 1735. It was an eleven page work. By the time it
reached its 10th edition (1758), it classified 4,400 species of animals and 7,700 species of plants. In it, the unwieldy names
mostly used at the time, such as "Physalis annua ramosissima, ramis angulosis glabris, foliis dentato-serratis", were
supplemented with concise and now familiar "binomials", composed of the generic name, followed by a specific epithet - in the
case given, Physalis angulata. These binomials could serve as a label to refer
to the species. Higher taxa were constructed and arranged in a simple and orderly manner. Although the system, now known as
binomial nomenclature, was developed by the Bauhin brothers (see Gaspard Bauhin and Johann Bauhin) almost 200 years earlier,
Linnaeus was the first to use it consistently throughout the work, also in monospecific genera, and may be said to have
popularized it within the scientific community.
Linnaeus named taxa in ways that personally struck him as common-sensical; for example, human beings are Homo sapiens
(see sapience). He also briefly described a second human species, Homo
troglodytes ("cave-dwelling man"). This was however likely a confusion originating from
exaggerated second- or third-hand accounts of the chimpanzee (currently most often
placed in a different genus, as Pan troglodytes). The group "mammalia" are named for their mammary glands because one of the defining characteristics of mammals is that they
nurse their young.
Species Plantarum
-
Species Plantarum was first published in 1753, as a two-volume work. Its prime importance is perhaps that it is the
primary starting point of plant nomenclature as it exists today.
In 1754 Linnaeus divided the plant Kingdom into 25 classes. One, Cryptogamia, included all the
plants with concealed reproductive parts (algae, fungi, mosses and liverworts and ferns).[12]
Students
Carolus imbued his students with his own thoroughness in an atmosphere of enthusiasm, trained
them to close and accurate observation, and then sent them to various parts of the globe. Some of the notable students and
expeditions include Pehr Kalm's visit to North America 1748–1751; Daniel Solander, traveling first with James Cook's expedition to the
Pacific in 1768, then in 1771 to Iceland, the Faroes and
Orkney; Fredric Hasselquist, who visited
Palestine and parts of Asia Minor; and Carl Peter Thunberg, journeying to Japan, South Africa, Java, and Sri Lanka.
See also
The Coat of Arms of Carl von Linné
Notes
- ^ “Carl Linnaeus was born in Råshult, Småland, in 1707 on May 13th (Old
Style) or 23rd according to our present calendar.” Citation: Linnaeus the child by Uppsala University. "Old Style" in the cited text refers to the Swedish
calendar.
- ^ a b Stafleu, F.A. (1976-1998) Taxonomic Literature second edition. An
authoritative work on the names of botanists, their works and publication data, issued under the auspices of the IAPT.
- ^ a b "What people have said about Linnaeus", Uppsala University website "Linné on line" English language
version.
- ^ Linnaeus deceased Uppsala University website "Linné on line" English language
version.
- ^ (Swedish) Lind on Den virtuella
floran, by The Swedish Museum of Natural History, accessed on 14 May 2006
- ^ Stearn, W.T. (1992), Botanical Latin, fourth edition: p. 283-284,
Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. ISBN 978-0-88192-321-6.
- ^ W.T. Stearn, (1957), An introduction to the Species Plantarum and
cognate botanical works of Carl Linnaeus, Principal events in the life of Linnaeus; in: Carl Linnaeus, Species
Plantarum, A Facsimile of the first edition 1753, Volume I: 14, Ray Society, London.
- ^ a b c d e f g Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, article Linnaeus. Suggested
direct-link: [1],
accessed September 1.
- ^ Sörling & Fagerstedt, p.32
- ^ Algulin, Ingemar, A History of Swedish Literature (1989), p.43
- ^ a b c Uppsala University, Linné Online,
English language version
- ^ Hoek, C.van den, Mann,
D.G. and Jahns, H.M. 2005. Algae An Introduction to Phycology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 0 521 30419
9
Further reading
- Brightwell, C. L. A
Life of Linnaeus. London: J. Van Voorst, 1858.
- Hovey, Edmund Otis. The Bicentenary of the Birth of Carolus Linnaeus. New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1908.
- Sörlin & Fagerstedt, Linné och hans lärjungar, 2004. ISBN 91-27-35590-X
- J.L.P.M.Krol, Linneaus' verblijf op de Hartekamp In: Het landgoed de Hartekamp in Heemstede. Heemstede, 1982. ISBN
90-70712-01-6
- Linneaus plays a significant role in the short story entitled "Rare Bird" by Andrea
Barrett (which appears in her 1996 anthology "Ship Fever").
External links
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