Carl Linnaeus Biography

Carl Linnaeus was a Swedish botanist of the 18th century who devised the binomial system of taxonomy for plants.

A physician by training, Linnaeus was gifted enough at plant identification that me made a career of it, thanks to patrons and a stint in The Netherlands for about five years. After 1741 he was a professor of botany at Uppsala University.

During his career, he published several works, most notably Species planetarium and Systema naturae.

By the end of his career, Linnaeus had identified 12,000 plant species and was an unprecedented influence on botany. He was named the chief royal physician and knighted in 1778 (he took the name Carl von Linné).