Biography

Carolus Linnaeus, also called Carl Linnaeus and Swedish Carl von Linné, was a Swedish naturalist and explorer who was the first to frame principles for defining natural genera and species of organisms and to create a uniform system for naming them (binomial nomenclature). In 1727 he entered the University of Lund to study medicine, and during his stay there he undertook extensive botanical excursions. He eventually obtained his M.D. Holland, where he lived until 1738 earning a reputation as Europe's outstanding botanist. He composed numerous literary works on plants including "Hartus Clifforfiamts," "Systema naturae," "Fundamenta botanica," and "Bibliotheca botanica." In 1738 he married Sara Elisabeth Moraea. In 1739 he was appointed physician to the admiralty, and in 1742 he was appointed chair of botany, dietetics and materia medica at the University of Uppsala. In 1751 he published an expanded version of "Fundamenta botanica," entitled "Philosophies botanica." In this book he formalized the modern system of naming organisms. He went on to publish "flora suecica" naming 1, 140 plant species, and "Specis plantarum" a 2 volume work in which he diagnosed about 8,000 plant species. He is also known as the "father of taxonomy."