Carolus Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus, (1707-78). Swedish botanist, born Carl untie, who established a system for naming and classifying plants and animals that is, still used today. While a lecturer in botany at the University of Uppsala, he travelled extensively in north-west Europe, discovering many new species of plants. In 1735 he published his Systema Naturae, in which he classified living things in a methodical way. He also assigned two Latin names to each organism — one for its genus and the other for its species. Thus Linnaeus gave the human species the name Homo sapiens. Linnaeus’s work provided a valuable basis for the work of later biologists. His books and collections are kept at the naean Society, founded in London in 1788 in his honour.
