Karl Linke. Carl Linnaeus created the first search engine

Carl Linnaeus was born on May 23, 1707 in the village of Roshult in Sweden in the family of a priest. Two years later he and his family moved to Stenbrohult. Interest in plants in the biography of Carl Linnaeus appeared already in childhood. He received his primary education at a school in the city of Växjö, and after graduating from school he entered a gymnasium. Linnaeus's parents wanted the boy to continue the family business and become a pastor. But Karl was of little interest in theology. He devoted a lot of time to studying plants.

Thanks to the insistence of school teacher Johan Rothman, Karl's parents allowed him to study medical sciences. Then the university stage began. Karl began studying at the University of Lund. And in order to become more familiar with medicine, a year later he moved to Uppsald University. In addition, he continued to educate himself. Together with a student at the same university, Peter Artedi, Linnaeus began revising and criticizing the principles of natural science.

In 1729, he met W. Celsius, who played an important role in the development of Linnaeus as a botanist. Then Karl moved to the house of Professor Celsius and began to get acquainted with his huge library. Linnaeus's basic ideas on the classification of plants were outlined in his first work, “Introduction to the Sexual Life of Plants.”

A year later, Linnaeus had already begun teaching and lecturing at the botanical garden of Uppsald University.

He spent the period from May to October 1732 in Lapland. After fruitful work during the trip, his book “A Brief Flora of Lapland” was published. It was in this work that the reproductive system in the plant world was described in detail. The following year, Linnaeus became interested in mineralogy, even publishing a textbook. Then in 1734, in order to study plants, he went to the province of Dalarna.

He received his doctorate in medicine in June 1735 from the University of Harderwijk. Linnaeus's next work, The System of Nature, marked a new stage in Linnaeus's career and life in general. Thanks to new connections and friends, he received the position of caretaker of one of the largest botanical gardens in Holland, which collected plants from all over the world. So Karl continued to classify plants. And after the death of his friend Peter, Artedi published his work and later used his ideas for classifying fish. While living in Holland, Linnaeus's works were published: “Fundamenta Botanica”, “Musa Cliffordiana”, “Hortus Clifortianus”, “Critica botanica”, “Genera plantarum” and others.

The scientist returned to his homeland in 1773. There in Stockholm he began practicing medicine, using his knowledge of plants to treat people. He also taught, was chairman of the Royal Academy of Sciences, and a professor at Uppsala University (he retained the position until his death).

Then Carly Linnaeus, in his biography, went on an expedition to the islands of the Baltic Sea and visited western and southern Sweden. And in 1750 he became rector of the university where he had previously taught. In 1761 he received the status of a nobleman. And on January 10, 1778, Linnaeus died.

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Linnaeus Karl (1707-1778), Swedish naturalist who created a system of classification of flora and fauna.

Born on May 23, 1707 in the city of Rosshuld (Sweden) in the family of a pastor. From his father, young Karl inherited a passion for botany.

Having studied natural and medical sciences at Lund (1727) and Uppsala (since 1728) universities, Linnaeus in 1732 traveled through Lapland (a natural area in northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and the western Kola Peninsula). The result was the work “Flora of Lapland” (1732; complete edition 1737).

In 1735, the scientist moved to the city of Hartekamp (Netherlands), where he received the position of head of the botanical garden; defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic “New hypothesis of intermittent fevers.”

From 1738 he practiced medicine in Stockholm; in 1739 he headed the naval hospital and won the right to autopsy corpses to determine the cause of death. He participated in the creation of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and became its first president (1739).

From 1741 he headed the department at Uppsala University, where he taught medicine and natural science.

Linnaeus's most significant work is System of Nature. The book was first published in 1735 and went through 12 editions during the author’s lifetime. It was in this work that Linnaeus applied and introduced the so-called binary nomenclature, according to which each species is designated by two Latin names - generic and specific.

The scientist defined the concept of species using both morphological (similarity within the offspring of the same family) and physiological (presence of fertile offspring) criteria.

He established a clear gradation of systematic categories: class, order, genus, species, variation. Linnaeus based his classification of plants on the number, size and location of the stamens and pistils of a flower, as well as the sign that the plant is mono-, bi- or polyecious. He believed that the reproductive organs are the most essential and permanent parts of the body in plants. Based on this principle, the scientist divided all plants into 24 classes.

Linnaeus discovered and described about 1,500 plant species. The classification of the animal world he proposed subsequently underwent significant changes thanks to new discoveries in the field of biology, but was revolutionary for its time. Its distinctive feature is that man is included in the system of the animal kingdom and belongs to the class of mammals, the order of primates. The dual nomenclature system proposed by Linnaeus is still in use today.

The life of the great systematizer of Nature, Carl Linnaeus, is similar to old Christmas stories, where the suffering of the poor little one is first described, and then everything ends with a touching ending. In addition, there were so many almost symbolic coincidences in his biography that it acquired the mystical flavor inherent in such stories.

He was born in 1707, in May, when the house smelled overwhelmingly of flowers. The aroma came from the nearby fields, and most importantly, from the parent’s garden. His father, a poor rural pastor, a descendant of local peasants, was probably still drawn to the land. When the Venerable Linnaeus was not serving God, he loved to tinker in his well-known garden under a spreading old linden tree. She was considered sacred, and the surname Linneus itself was taken in her honor. After all, linden in Swedish is “lind”. The honest pastor wished the same fate for his first-born, Karl. But everything turned out the other way around: flowers became the main thing for my son. True, God also received something, but from the meager remnants of time.

The charming and mysterious world of flowers bewitched the boy from the cradle. He stopped crying and calmed down when his mother put any stem in his hand. Family legend preserves the story of how four-year-old Karl listened to the explanations of his gardener-father given to inquisitive neighbors. His eyes sparkled so much and his cheeks glowed so much that his mother considered her son ill. And then, when he studied at school in a neighboring town, he was invariably considered one of the most incapable, since his thoughts hovered far from the stuffy classroom. True, the grades in physics and mathematics were very good, but the basic subjects needed by the future pastor - Latin, Greek and Hebrew - were in a terrible state. Teachers who gave up on the careless Linneus, and classmates who did not understand his absurd hobby, called him only “nerd.” The irony of people gradually turned into the irony of fate.

But this happened many years later. In the meantime, there were only troubles. When my father came to the city to see a doctor and learn about Karl’s successes, he was amazed at the unanimous opinion of the teachers. They all advised taking his son out of the gymnasium and teaching him a craft. The upset pastor had already decided that Karl would earn his daily bread with wood and scissors. Why spend the last thalers when three more children are growing up in the family? But, by a happy coincidence, the doctor he went to see taught physics at the gymnasium. However, this is not so surprising, because at that time physics and medicine were one discipline.

Having learned that the patient had decided to send his son as an apprentice to a shoemaker, the doctor was horrified and firmly stated to the stunned pastor: “And I tell you, in spite of everything, that of all the students at the gymnasium, only Karl predicts a brilliant future.” The physician Rothman (his name should not be forgotten) not only dissuaded the pastor from his idea, but took the boy into his home, taught him himself, and even weakened his aversion to Latin by reading the works of Pliny the Elder on natural history. True, even during the years of Linnaeus’s glory, colleagues, listening to his Latin speech, said that “he is not Cicero.” Jean-Jacques Rousseau, justifying his friend, objected: “Cicero was free not to know botany!”

Still, Carl Linnaeus graduated from high school, albeit with a curious characteristic that could give a modern adherent of the bureaucratic style a heart attack. “Youth in schools are like young trees in a nursery. It sometimes happens - although rarely - that the wild nature of a tree, despite any care, does not lend itself to cultivation. But when transplanted into different soil, the tree improves and bears good fruit. Only in this hope is the young man sent to university, where perhaps he will find himself in a climate favorable to his development.”

Returning home, Karl endured a serious battle with his parents, as a result of which two decisions were made. Firstly, never let his brother into the garden, so that he too does not go down the wrong path. Secondly, give Karl a letter of recommendation to a distant relative, the cathedral dean in the nearby university city of Lund. The first decision bore fruit, and Samuel Linneus eventually became a pastor in his native village. The second, alas, turned out to be fruitless. When the dusty pedestrian, dreaming of a student's bench, reached Lund, a funeral procession met him on the streets of the city. The dean of the cathedral was buried. Crushed by failure, the young man trudged behind “behind the coffin of his hopes,” as one of Linnaeus’ biographers writes. Since then, by his own admission, he could not stand the ringing of bells.

Returning home meant the complete collapse of his dream, and Karl wandered aimlessly around the city, where he had neither shelter, nor acquaintances, nor a chance to enter the university due to his devastating characteristics. But suddenly (oh, this is a word full of optimism!) he encounters his school teacher, who became a philosophy teacher at the university. This teacher was probably not a very vindictive person, since he introduced Linnaeus to the rector as his student. And now, without unnecessary formalities, he was already enrolled as a student and was even assigned to stay for free with Professor Stobeus.

The professor's apartment is not only a miniature hostel, but also a small natural museum and a good library. True, books at that time were quite expensive, and therefore they were only given to especially trusted people to read. Alas, freshman Linneus is not one of them. However, using the knowledge of physiology acquired from Rothman, Karl gives consultations to one of those admitted to the book treasures, and in return receives volumes from the professor’s library for the night. And the days of a half-starved but happy existence flew by.

Soon the mistress of the house noticed the sparkle of fire in the guest's window. She decided that he forgot to blow out the candle in the evenings, and, fearing a fire, complained to the professor. Stobeus himself caught the tenant at the crime scene. Quietly opening the door, he was surprised to see the young man not in bed, but immersed in studying a volume from his own library. A sincere confession followed. “Come and see me in the morning,” said the professor, blowing out the candle. With his head bowed, Karl entered Stobeus's office. The professor was not without flaws: lame, crooked, overly hot-tempered... But anger was not on this list. “Here, take this,” he said to the young man, handing him the keys to the library, “You need to sleep at night.” Noticing Karl's diligence, he began to invite him to his own table, took him on visits to patients, allowed him to answer letters from patients and write prescriptions. Everything turned out as well as possible; Stobeus even promised to subsequently transfer his clientele to Linnaeus. And yet the young student was increasingly reluctant to attend classes. Philologists and theologians here also looked down on doctors and botanists. The level of teaching of natural sciences was extremely low. Karl decides to leave the hospitable professorial home and move to the ancient Uppsala University, where the famous natural scientists Rudbeck and Roberg teach.

Everything starts all over again. Cardboard insoles are cut into holes in shoes. A smaller part of the money is spent on food, and a large part on books and candles; when things get really tight, you have to, as they say, save money on candles by reading by the city lamp. And life deals its merciless blows; the mother dies, the father becomes seriously ill; relatives keep writing and writing for him to fulfill his filial duty, return home, help put his sisters on their feet... Finally, the decision has been made. There is no more strength to endure the pangs of conscience and the pangs of hunger. Before leaving, collecting alms along the roads, back home, Karl stopped by to say goodbye to the botanical garden of the university. But, apparently, fate was preparing this man for the role intended for him, sending him help at critical moments. This time the role of providence was played by the doctor of theology Olaf Celsius.

A passionate amateur botanist, he decided to combine his main occupation and “hobby” by creating the work “Plants Mentioned in the Bible.” A chance meeting with a rare flower - and the conversation that immediately broke out like gunpowder, which happens when connoisseurs who are passionate about their work meet. Names poured in, drawn from the synonymy of the French botanist Tournefort, long Latin definitions, comparisons of carefully cherished herbariums...

Professor Celsius himself writes a letter to Charles's father. He sheltered the young man in his house, gave him private lessons, they roamed the fields together, looking for flowers and arranging them in albums according to the French system, confusing, complex, cumbersome... In the traditional message to his beloved professor, which was supposed to be done in poetic form, Linnaeus turns to prose: “I was not born a poet, but to some extent a botanist...” His reasoning about the sexual characteristics of plants, about methods of reproduction, about the possibility of constructing a classification on this basis greatly pleased Olaf Celsius. It is not known whether the venerable theologian published his biblical-botanical treatise, but, undoubtedly, it did not bring him fame. But the unpublished New Year's message of Linnaeus, where the outline of his remarkable system was first outlined, brought immortality to this good man.

The epistolary scientific work of the young scientist was also highly appreciated by Professor Rudbeck, who was introduced to it by Olaf Celsius. Karl Linneus becomes the professor's assistant, and sometimes even lectures for him. The young man's position became stronger. As a result, he had an envious enemy who haunted him for many years - Doctor of Sciences Nils Rosen, the teacher of the Rudbeck children, who was aiming for a professorship. But a friend also appeared - Peter Artesius, who was also interested in classification, but not of plants, but of fish. He is often considered the creator of ichthyology. Most likely, he became the first critic of the Linnaean system, strengthening Karl's confidence in his rightness.

Nils Rosen was not a stupid man; before many venerable professors, he appreciated the depth of thought and breadth of knowledge of the young scientist and therefore began to give him all sorts of slingshots. Taking advantage of the fact that Linnaeus did not have a scientific degree, and sometimes simply with the help of slander and slander, Rosen began to survive him from Uppsala.

First, Linnaeus goes on a difficult and dangerous expedition to Lapland, and travels around Dalecarlia, collecting plants and minerals. Yet, despite the value of the collections he collected and the originality of the reports he prepared, it became clear to him that without a doctorate his work would not be appreciated. But according to tradition, one should have defended oneself not in Sweden, for there is no prophet in one’s own fatherland, but in Holland. However, such a trip requires money, which, as always, is in short supply.

This time it was not friendship that helped, but love. The heart of the young scientist was captivated by the young beauty Sarah Lisa, the daughter of a doctor. Having received consent to the marriage, he asks his future father-in-law for a loan. The latter, although he was, as Linnaeus put it, “a gentle friend of money,” forked out for the sake of his daughter’s happiness.

And now Karl is on his way. The few works he published did not escape the attention of foreigners. They already know him. In Hamburg, the local burgomaster shows a young naturalist a rare curiosity - a hydra with seven heads. It was bought for a lot of money and was even described in scientific treatises. To the indignation of the gullible owner, Linnaeus exposed the clever charlatan fake. In the summer of 1735, a public debate took place in the city of Harderwick on the topic: “A new hypothesis about the cause of intermittent fever.” The happy doctor receives a silk hat and a gold ring - symbols of his scientific rank.

Scientific life in Holland seems to be simply in full swing compared to the Swedish outback. New friends, using their own money, publish Linnaeus’s “System of Nature,” which classifies three kingdoms: minerals, plants and animals. The book gained unprecedented popularity, gradually swelling, and in a short time it went through 13 editions.

Of particular importance is the classification of the plant world according to its reproductive organ - the flower. Plants are divided into 24 classes, with the first 13 determined simply by the number of stamens in the flower, the next 7 classes determined by their location and length, followed by unisexual flowers, bisexual flowers and secretagogues. The ease of definition and brevity of the system are the captivating advantages of Linnaeus' classification. Of course, the author understood the primitiveness and inaccuracy of the division he proposed: cereals were scattered into different classes, trees coexisted with wildflowers. But hard trouble is the beginning. The main thing is the principle found: essential features as the basis for distinction. What is more important than the reproductive system in a flower? In any case, the Babylonian pandemonium, after which botanists ceased to understand each other, has now been eliminated. The task of classification was so acute that the famous naturalist of that time, Hermann Burgaw, generally defined botany as “the part of natural science through which plants are successfully and with the least difficulty recognized and retained in memory.”

The newly minted doctor, of course, wanted to meet Burgaw. But it wasn't that easy! Even the Russian Tsar Peter I waited for an appointment for several hours: the popular doctor and renowned naturalist was very busy. For several days Linnaeus hung around in the reception room of the Leiden celebrity, but was never granted an audience. However, after he sent his “System of Nature” to Boergaw, he immediately sent his carriage after him.

Linnaeus's Dutch period was both happy and fruitful. Burhaw introduced him to the burgomaster of Amsterdam, director of the East India Company, Clifford, who asked him to describe an amazing garden near Haarlem, full of exotic flowers and rare animals. The conscientious publication "Clifford's Garden" served as a model for naturalists for many years. Then “Fundament a Botanika”, “Critika Botanika” and “Genera planiarum” come out. For the last of these works, Linnaeus was elected to the Saxon Academy. How many more will there be, these academies that honored him with their membership: Paris, St. Petersburg, Madrid, Berlin...

It is curious that not only Linnaeus’s thoughts are original, but also his form. He compiled his book “Fundamentals of Botany” from 365 (according to the number of days in the year) aphorisms, dividing them, naturally, into 12 sections. In this book, which lists the main guiding ideas of Linnaeus, which, as the author himself writes, reflects 7 years of work and careful study of 8 thousand plants, he could not resist and also classified botanists.

It cannot be said that Linnaeus's system was enthusiastically accepted by everyone. Some did not want to relearn, others found it too speculative, and still others found it harmful. For example, Professor Johann Sigesbeck, invited from Germany to St. Petersburg, wrote a dissertation condemning Linnaeus’ system as immoral. After all, God would never allow such a vice in the plant kingdom that several men have a common wife. What can be demanded of Sigesbeck, whose first scientific memoir in Russia was devoted to refuting the book of Copernicus, if even after more than a hundred years one professor, giving a lecture on plant reproduction, removed the ladies from it. Linnaeus did not dignify Sigesbeck with an answer, but was deeply offended by him. After all, shortly before this, he christened one of the plants “Oriental Sigesbekia” in his honor. One day, a German professor received from Linnaeus seeds with the inscription “Cuculus ingrains” - an ungrateful cuckoo. When he sowed them, the asteraceous plant “Sigesbekia orientalis” grew.

According to contemporaries, Carl Linnaeus was a cheerful person who appreciated a good joke and a sharp anecdote. It is clear from his scientific works that he not only seriously studied Aristotle’s logic, from which he derived many concepts and definitions, but also that his studies in the classics did not dry up his sense of humor. For example, he named one thorny plant Pisontea in honor of the critic Piso. And the family, the flower of which consisted of two long stamens and one short one, was christened Commelinaceae, in memory of the three Commelin brothers. Two of them became famous scientists, and the third achieved nothing.

Before returning to his homeland, Linnaeus decided to visit Paris. Here he meets Reaumur, Rousseau and the famous French florist Bernard Jussier. Linnaeus came to a colleague’s lecture and modestly sat in the back row. Raising above his head a recently received unknown flower from a distant continent, Jussier asked: “Who can tell where this plant comes from?” Everyone was silent, and the professor was about to answer himself when the voice of the guest was heard, giving the correct answer. “You are Linnaeus,” said Jussier, “for only he could do this.”

The triumphant march of the scientist who had become famous was interrupted after returning to his homeland. There was no work, no money. Linnaeus's fame had not yet reached his compatriots. Again, as in his youth, he is starving, trying to earn money through the art of medicine. But at first no one wanted to trust the doctor of science even to treat a dog. Slowly things got better. Linnaeus treated both for free and for lunch at a tavern, until he finally acquired a clientele. Money appeared, he began to be invited to the houses of the nobility and even to the royal palace. At this time, he wrote bitterly to a friend: “Aesculapius brings everything good, but the flora only brings Sigesbeks.”

Linnaeus even thought about parting with science, but this turned out to be beyond his strength. Several enthusiasts decided to create an academy of sciences. The position of president was drawn by lot on flowers. Carl Linnaeus was elected the first president of the Swedish Academy. His life had finally entered a cloudless phase. Every year his works were published, and students came to him from all European countries. He became the head of the department at his native Uppsala University and then its rector; received the Order of the Polar Star and nobility. Not only his position changed, but even his last name (Linneus began to be called in the noble manner of von Linne). But the life principles of the “king of flowers” ​​remained the same. He worked with the same passion as in his youth, and believed that “no position can replace the position of an honest man.”

Linnaeus's will contained several clauses. All of them were fulfilled, except for one: do not send condolences. They came and went from academies, universities, departments, colleagues and students, saying goodbye to the great systematizer of Nature.

(1707-1778) Swedish biologist

Carl Linnaeus was born on May 23, 1707 in the small Swedish village of Roshult in the family of a rural priest.

The father tried to give his son a good education in the hope that Karl would also become a clergyman. But the boy was most attracted to living nature. He graduated from primary school, but at the gymnasium he was not good at Latin and Greek. The teachers considered him an incapable child, although the boy showed an extraordinary interest in all kinds of plants.

The city doctor Rothman took Linnaeus into his home, studied with him a lot, and even weakened his aversion to Latin by reading the works of Pliny the Elder on natural history. Rotman turned out to be a good teacher. He got down to business so skillfully that Karl did not even notice how he fell in love with the very Latin that he had never wanted to hear about before.

After graduating from high school, Carl Linnaeus studied medicine and biology at the universities of the Swedish cities of Lund and Uppsala. The father could send his son only a small amount of money. But despite the hardships, the young man still collected a herbarium and tried to understand the whole variety of flowers, the number and arrangement of their stamens and pistils. Karl was only 23 years old when the famous Professor Rudbeck took him as his assistant. Carl Linnaeus becomes his assistant, and sometimes even lectures for him. In the spring of 1732, the leadership of Uppsala University invited him to travel to northern Scandinavia - Lapland - to explore its nature. Very little money was allocated for the expedition, but this did not bother the naturalist. Linnaeus traveled almost the entire north of Scandinavia, observed nature, studied it, and wrote it down. Upon returning from the expedition, he published his first book, “Flora of Lapland.”

After graduating from the university, Carl Linnaeus was going to stay here as a teacher, but this required a scientific degree, and Carl went to Holland.

The Dutch period of Linnaeus's life was both happy and fruitful. It was here that he received his doctorate and conducted scientific work for about a year in one of the best botanical gardens in the country.

In Holland in 1735, the Swedish scientist published his most famous work, “The System of Nature.” Despite its small volume - only 12 pages, his work was of epoch-making significance. In it, Carl Linnaeus proposed binary nomenclature - a system of scientific names for plants and animals. In his opinion, each name should have consisted of two words - a generic and a specific designation. A species consists of many similar individuals that produce fertile offspring. The scientist was convinced that species are eternal and cannot change. But already in his later works he noted some examples of the variability of organisms and the emergence of new species from old ones. Linnaeus gave names to species in Latin, the same Latin that was difficult for him during his school years. At that time, Latin was the international language of science. Thus, Linnaeus resolved a difficult problem: if names were given in different languages, then the same species could be described under many names.

When characterizing a plant, Carl Linnaeus used a double name - generic and species. The name of the genus is common to all species belonging to it; the species name refers to plants of that species. For example, the genus name is currant, the species name is red, black, white, and the full names are red currant, etc. They based their classification of plants on the structure of the flower. Plants were divided into 24 classes by Carl Linn, with the first 13 determined simply by the number of stamens in the flower, the next 7 classes determined by their location and length. Fungi, lichens, algae - in general, everything devoid of flowers, according to his classification, turned out to be in the 24th class (“cryptogamy”). The ease of determining belonging to a particular class and the brevity of the system are the captivating advantages of Linnaeus' classification. Of course, he understood the primitiveness and inaccuracy of the division he proposed: cereals were distributed into different classes, trees were adjacent to wildflowers. And yet, the merit of the Swedish scientist was great, because he introduced clear and uniform rules for describing plants.

And in the classification of animals, Carl Linnaeus used a clear system (class - order - genus - variety), which, with some additions, is used in our time. Linnaeus's division of the animal world into classes is based on the characteristics of the circulatory system. He identified only 6 classes: mammals, birds, amphibians, fish, insects and worms. Almost all invertebrates fall into the class of worms. Linnaeus correctly placed humans and apes in the same order on the basis of similarities in their structure, although such thoughts were then considered criminal. Of course, Linnaeus understood the artificiality of his system. “An artificial system,” he said, “serves only until a natural one is found; The first one teaches only to recognize plants, the second one teaches on the very nature of plants.”

A few years later, Carl Linnaeus returned to his homeland not only as a doctor, but also as a botanist with a European name, although at first life in his homeland turned out to be difficult. The young doctor did not yet have any patients, and his fame as a naturalist did not bring him money. Linnaeus was even planning to leave for Holland: in the country of flower growers he could get a good position as a botanist. And suddenly he was lucky: he managed to cure a patient who was considered hopeless. Medical fame suddenly came, and with it a large number of patients. But the young scientist wanted to do scientific work. In 1741, he became a professor at his native Uppsala University, and soon the first president of the Swedish Academy of Sciences. Carl Linnaeus was awarded the title of nobility. He could deservedly be proud of himself, for everything that he became famous for was achieved by his own will and his own labor.

By this time, the entire scientific world knew Linnaeus. Among his students were Russians. He carried on extensive correspondence with many St. Petersburg botanists, received herbariums from Russia with descriptions of plants growing in different territories of the country, and in 1754 he was elected an honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.

Linnaeus was an exceptionally efficient and hardworking person. Stingy, persistent in achieving his goals, he had an enterprising and lively character. A brilliant lecturer, he was popular among students.

All his life he supplemented and republished his works, which from a small book gradually turned into a multi-volume publication.

After his death, the ancient books and herbariums of Carl Linnaeus are kept in the British Museum.

Carl Linnaeus - Swedish naturalist, naturalist, botanist, doctor, founder of modern biological taxonomy, creator of the system of flora and fauna, first president of the Swedish Academy of Sciences (since 1739), foreign honorary member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1754).

Linnaeus was the first to consistently apply binary nomenclature and built the most successful artificial classification of plants and animals, describing about 1,500 plant species. Carl advocated the constancy of species and creationism. Author of “System of Nature” (1735), “Philosophy of Botany” (1751), etc.

Carl Linnaeus was born on May 23, 1707 in Rossult. The boy was the first-born in the family of a rural pastor and flower grower Nils Linneus. His father replaced his surname Ingemarson with the Latinized surname “Linneus” after the giant linden tree (in Swedish Lind) that grew near the family home. Having moved from Rosshult to neighboring Stenbrohult (province of Småland in Southern Sweden), Nils planted a beautiful garden, about which Linnaeus said: “this garden inflamed my mind with an unquenchable love for plants.”

Karl's passion for plants distracted him from his homework. The parents hoped that studying in the neighboring town of Växjo would cool the ardent passion of the future scientist. However, in elementary school (from 1716), and then in the gymnasium (from 1724), the boy studied poorly. He neglected theology and was considered the worst student in ancient languages.

Only the need to read Pliny's Natural History and the works of modern botanists forced him to study Latin, the universal language of science of that time. Dr. Rothman introduced Karl to these works. Encouraging the gifted young man's interest in botany, he prepared him for university.

In August 1727, twenty-year-old Carl Linnaeus became a student at Lund University. Acquaintance with the herbarium collections of the natural cabinet of Professor Stobeus prompted Linnaeus to conduct a detailed study of the flora of the surrounding area of ​​Lund, and by December 1728 he compiled a catalog of rare plants “Catalogus Plantarum Rariorum Scaniae et Smolandiae”.

In the same year, C. Linnaeus continued his study of medicine at Uppsala University, where friendly communication with student Peter Artedi (later a famous ichthyologist) brightened up the dryness of the course of lectures on natural history. Joint excursions with the theologian professor O. Celsius, who helped the financially poor Linnaeus, and studies in his library expanded Linnaeus’s botanical horizons, and he was indebted to the benevolent professor O. Rudbeck Jr. not only for the beginning of his teaching career, but also for the idea of ​​traveling to Lapland (May -September 1732).

The purpose of this expedition was to study all three kingdoms of nature - minerals, plants and animals - the vast and little-studied region of Fennoscandia, as well as the life and customs of the Laplanders (Sami). The results of the four-month journey were first summarized by Linnaeus in a small work in 1732; the complete Flora lapponica, one of Linnaeus's most famous works, was published in 1737.

In 1734, C. Linnaeus traveled to the Swedish province of Dalecarlia at the expense of the governor of this province, and later, having settled in Falun, he was engaged in mineralogy and assay business. Here he first began practicing medicine, and also found himself a bride. Linnaeus's engagement to the daughter of the doctor Moreus took place on the eve of the groom's departure to Holland, where Linnaeus went as a candidate for a doctorate in medicine in order to be able to support his family (a requirement of his future father-in-law).

Having successfully defended his dissertation on intermittent fever (fever) at the university in Gardewijk on June 24, 1735, K. Linnaeus plunged into the study of the richest natural science rooms in Amsterdam. Then he went to Leiden, where he published one of his most important works - “Systema naturae” (“System of Nature”, 1735). It was a summary of the kingdoms of minerals, plants and animals, presented in tables on only 14 pages, albeit in a sheet format. Linnaeus classified plants into 24 classes, basing the classification on the number, size and location of stamens and pistils.

The new system turned out to be practical and allowed even amateurs to identify plants, especially since Linnaeus streamlined the terms of descriptive morphology and introduced a binary (binomial) nomenclature to designate species, which simplified the search and identification of both plants and animals.

Later, Karl supplemented his work, and the last lifetime (12th) edition consisted of 4 books and 2335 pages. Linnaeus himself recognized himself as the chosen one, called upon to interpret the Creator's plan, but only the recognition of the famous Dutch physician and naturalist Herman Boerhaave opened the path to fame for him.

After Leiden, Carl Linnaeus lived in Amsterdam with the director of the Botanical Garden, studying plants and creating scientific works. Soon, on the recommendation of Boerhaave, he received a position as a family physician and head of the botanical garden with the director of the East India Company and burgomaster of Amsterdam G. Clifford. During two years (1736-1737) spent in Hartekamp (near Haarlem), where the rich man and plant lover Clifford created an extensive collection of plants from all over the world, Linnaeus published a number of works that brought him European fame and unquestioned authority among botanists.

In a small book “Fundamente Botanicc” (“Fundamentals of Botany”), composed of 365 aphorisms (according to the number of days in the year), Linnaeus outlined the principles and ideas that guided him in his work as a systematic botanist.

In the famous aphorism “we count as many species as there are different forms that were first created,” he expressed his belief in the constancy of the number and immutability of species since their creation (later he allowed the emergence of new species as a result of crossings between already existing species). Here is an interesting classification of botanists themselves.

The works “Genera plantarun” (“Genera of Plants”) and “Critica Botanica” are devoted to the establishment and description of genera (994) and problems of botanical nomenclature, and “Bibliotheca Botanica” is devoted to botanical bibliography. Carl Linnaeus's systematic description of the Clifford botanical garden - "Hortus Сliffortianus" (1737) for a long time became a model for such works. In addition, Linnaeus published the “Ichthyology” of his untimely deceased friend Artedi, preserving for science the work of one of the founders of ichthyology.

Returning to his homeland in the spring of 1738, Linnaeus married and settled in Stockholm, practicing medicine, teaching and science. In 1739 he became one of the founders of the Royal Academy of Sciences and its first president, receiving the title of “royal botanist”.

In May 1741, Carl Linnaeus traveled to Gotland and the island of Oland, and in October of the same year, his professorship at Uppsala University began with a lecture “On the Necessity of Traveling in the Fatherland.” Many people sought to study botany and medicine in Uppsala. The number of university students tripled, and in the summer increased many times thanks to the famous excursions, which ended with a solemn procession and a loud cry of “Vivat Linnaeus!” by all its participants.

Since 1742, the teacher restored the university Botanical Garden, which was almost destroyed by fire, housing a particularly vibrant collection of Siberian plants. The rarities sent from all continents by his traveling students were also grown here.

In 1751, Philosophia Botanica (Philosophy of Botany) was published, and in 1753, probably the most significant and important work for botany by Carl Linnaeus, Species plantarum (Species of Plants).

Surrounded by admiration, showered with honors, elected an honorary member of many learned societies and Academies, including St. Petersburg (1754), elevated to the nobility in 1757, Linnaeus, in his declining years acquired the small estate of Hammarby, where he spent time peacefully tending to his own garden and collections . The scientist died in Uppsala in the seventy-first year.

In 1783, after the death of Linnaeus's son, Karl, his widow sold the herbarium, collections, manuscripts and library of the scientist for 1000 guineas to England. In 1788, the Linnean Society was established in London, and its first president, J. Smith, became the main custodian of the collections. Designed to become a center for the study of Linnaeus's scientific heritage, it continues to fulfill this role today.

Thanks to Carl Linnaeus, plant science became one of the most popular in the second half of the 18th century. He himself was recognized as the “chief of botanists,” although many contemporaries condemned the artificiality of the Linnean system. His merit consisted in streamlining the almost chaotic diversity of forms of living organisms into a clear and observable system. He described more than 10,000 species of plants and 4,400 species of animals (including Homo sapiens). Linnaeus' binomial nomenclature remains the basis of modern taxonomy.

The Linnian names of plants in Species plantarum (Species of Plants, 1753) and animals in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae (1758) are legal, and both dates are officially recognized as the beginning of modern botanical and zoological nomenclature. The Linnaean principle ensured the universality and continuity of the scientific names of plants and animals and ensured the flowering of taxonomy. The scientist's passion for taxonomy and classification was not limited to plants - he also classified minerals, soils, diseases, and human races. He wrote a number of medical works. Unlike scientific works written in Latin, Carl Linnaeus wrote his travel notes in his native language. They are considered an example of this genre in Swedish prose.