Carolus Linnaeus
From Palaeos
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[edit] Introduction
Carolus Linnaeus, also known as Carl von Linné, (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] 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.
Linnaeus was the most renowned botanist of his time, and also noted for his fine language skills. The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau sent him the message: "Tell him I know no greater man on earth." [2]; 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." [2]; Swedish author August Strindberg wrote: "Linnaeus was in reality a poet who happened to become a naturalist". [3]
[edit] Bibliography
[edit] 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. 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.
[edit] Species Plantarum
The 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.
[edit] 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 include Pehr Kalm, in North America 1748–1751; Daniel Solander, with James Cook's to the Pacific in 1768, and in 1771 travelled to Iceland, the Faroes and Orkney; Fredric Hasselquist, who visited Palestine and parts of Asia Minor; and Carl Peter Thunberg to Japan, South Africa, Java, and Sri Lanka.
[edit] References
[1] 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.
[2] "What people have said about Linnaeus", Uppsala University website "Linné on line" English language version.
[3] Linnaeus deceased, Uppsala University website "Linné on line" English language version.
