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Carl Linnaeus, also known after his Ennoblement as , ( May 23 , 1707 – January 10 , 1778 ), was a Swedish Botanist , Physician and Zoologist 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 . who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of Nomenclature . He is also considered one of the fathers of modern Ecology (see History Of Ecology ). He is known as the "father of modern taxonomy." 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 {Link without Title} on the family property Linnagård ('Linn' being a now obsolete Swedish variant of 'Lind'; the linden tree). Nils Ingemarsson Linnaeus gave his son the name Carl. So the Swedish name of the boy was Carl LinnaeusStearn, W.T. (1992), ''Botanical Latin'', fourth edition: p. 283-284, Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. ISBN 0-88192-321-4.. When Carl Linnaeus enrolled 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 1761W.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., he took the name Carl von Linné. 'Linné' is thus a shortened version of 'Linnaeus', 'von' is added to signify his ennoblement. 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 uses 'Carl Linnaeus' as the author's name for all his works. BIOGRAPHY Carl Linnaeus was born on a farm in May 23 1707. The farm was called Råshult in Älmhult Municipality , the province of Småland in southern Sweden . Like his father and maternal grandfather, Linnaeus was groomed as a youth to be a churchman, but he showed little enthusiasm for it. His interest in Botany impressed a physician from his town and he was sent to study at Lund University , transferring to Uppsala University after one year. Linnaeus had been impressed by what he read about the Stamen s and Pistils of Flower s as sexual organs. At Uppsala he wrote a short work on the subject himself that earned him a position at the Botanical Gardens. In 1732 the Academy of Sciences at Uppsala financed his expedition to explore Lapland , then virtually unknown. The result of this was firstly ''The Florula Lapponica'' (the first work to use the Sexual System) and later the ''Flora Lapponica'' published in 1737 . In 1735 Linnaeus moved to the continent. In the Netherlands he earned his one and only academic degree. He also met 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. 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 amno ramosissime ramis angulosis glabris foliis dentoserratis''", were supplemented with concise and now familiar "binomials", composed of the generic name, followed by a specific epithet, e.g. '' 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 Troglodyte s'' ("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 " Mammal ia" are named for their mammary glands because one of the defining characteristics of mammals is that they nurse their young. In dated February 25 , 1747 , Linnaeus wrote: The Swedish king, Adolf Fredrik , ennobled Linnaeus in 1757 , and after the privy council had confirmed the ennoblement Linnaeus took the surname von Linné, later often signing just '''Carl Linné'''. Declining in his later years, Linnaeus suffered from a series of strokes in 1774. He died four years later, in 1778. LINNAEAN TAXONOMY ''.]] Taxonomists, in almost any biological field, have heard of Carolus Linnaeus. His prime contribution was to get two part names for species of plants and animals accepted (binomial names, scientific names): 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 recognised taxa of a lower (unnamed) rank (for plants these are now called "varieties"). Since then very many other ranks have been added, most notably phyla (singular: phylum) or divisions between kingdoms and classes, and families (between order and genus). Groups of organisms at any rank are now called ''taxa'' (singular: taxon) or ''taxonomic groups''. The task of identifying and describing all living species is called the Linnaean Enterprise by modern ecologists. His groupings were based upon shared physical characteristics. Although only his groupings for animals remain to this day, and the groupings themselves have been significantly changed since Linnaeus' conception, as well as the principles behind them, he is credited with establishing the idea of a hierarchical structure of classification which is based upon observable characteristics. Linnaeus was also a pioneer in defining the concept of " Race ". Within ''Homo sapiens'' he proposed four taxa of a lower (unnamed) rank. These categories are, ''Americanus'', ''Asiaticus'', ''Africanus'', and ''Europeanus''. They were based on place of origin at first, and later skin color. Each race had certain characteristics that members supposedly had. Native Americans were reddish, stubborn, and angered easily. Africans were black, relaxed and negligent. Asians were sallow, avaricious, and easily distracted. Europeans were white, gentle, and inventive. Linnaeus's races were clearly skewed in favour of Europeans. Over time, this classification led to a racial hierarchy, in which Europeans were at the top. STUDENTS His students include such renowned botanists as Pehr Kalm (from Finland ) and Daniel Solander (from Sweden ). See also Wikipedia's . OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS of Carolus Linnaeus (Carl v. Linné).]] bank note]]
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