Carl Linnæus , which will bear the name of Carl von Linné after having been anobli, (born the May 23rd 1707 with Råshult - died the January 10th 1778 with Uppsala), is a naturalist Swedish, founder of the modern Systématique.

History of its name

The large nomenclator who was Linné, that which devoted his life to name the majority of the living beings and to order them according to their row, had itself nets to leave with its own identity, its name and even its first name having been altered as well of time during its life as one does not count less than nine binomial S and as many synonyms!

With the S, the majority of the Swedes do not carry yet of patronymic names. Also the grandfather of Linné, in accordance with the Scandinavian tradition, was called Ingemar Bengtsson (meaning Ingemar, wire of Bengt ) and his/her own son, the father of Linné, was initially known under the name of The Nile Ingemarsson (meaning The Nile, wire of Ingemar ).

But the Nile, to fulfill the administrative requirements at the time of its inscription to the Université of Lund must choose a patronym. On the family grounds large a Tilleul pushes. The property bears from there already the name: Linnagård , Toponym formed of flax (alternative now obsolete of lind , “lime” in Swedish) and of gård , “firm”). Several family members were already inspired some to form patronyms like Lindelius (starting from lind ) or Tiliander (starting from Tilia , “Latin lime”). He is in addition of good tone, in the mediums educated to practice the Latin . The Nile thus chooses a Latinized form and becomes The Nile Ingemarsson Linnæus .

Then honouring the very popular sovereign with Sweden of the time Karl XII (Charles XII of Sweden, 1682-1718), the Nile gives the first name of the king to his son, who thus begins his existence by being called Karl Linnæus, generally spelled “ Carl Linnæus ”.

When Carl Linnæus is registered at the University of Lund, at the age of 20 years, its first name is recorded in the Latinized form of Carolus . And it is under this name of Carolus Linnæus ”, that it publishes its first Latin work.

Arrived to an immense notoriety and in the capacity as royal family practitioner of Sweden, it is anobli in 1761 and takes in 1762 the name of Carl von Linné , Linné being a diminutive (“with the Frenchwoman”, according to the fashion of the time in many countries of Germanic language) of Linnæus and von being the nobiliary particle. In France as in Sweden, it is commonly known today under the name of Linné .

In Botanique, where the quotations of authors are often shortened, one employs the standardized abbreviation L.. He is besides the only botanist to have the great privilege to be shortened in only one letter!

In Zoologie, where it is of use to quote with length the name of the author of the Taxons, one employs “ Linnæus ” (or its C-W communication without Latin binding “ Linnaeus ”, adopted in English and more practical for the users of keyboards known as international ) following the Taxons than it described, and not “Linné”, because it is under its university name that its principal work of taxonomy was published. Moreover, unlike its first name (Carolus), “Linnæus” is not a posteriori a Latin transcription, but its true patronym.

As for its works, they were published until in 1762 pennies the names of “Caroli Linnæi” (which is the génitive form, meaning “by Carolus Linnæus ”), or “Carl Linnæus” or only “Linnæus”. In 1762, on the front page of the second edition of Species plantarum , the name is still printed in this manner. But then, it appears more printed only in its form peerage-book “Carl von Linné” or “Carolus has Linné” (the has or ab being the Latin translation of von ). The libraries, it generally entered like “Linnaeus, Carolus (Carl von Linné)”.


Its life

Childhood in the Swedish countryside

Carl Linnæus is born the May 23rd 1707 with Råshult, in the parish of Stenbrohult of the Comté of Kronoberg, depending at that time on the Swedish province southernmost of the Småland. The area is rich in forests and in lakes, the environment is there particularly favourable with the contemplation and the observation of the nature.
The father of Carl, the Nile Ingemarsson Linnaeus (1674-1748) is then a vicar of the church Lutheran and his mother, Kristina Brodersonia (1688-1733) is the girl of Pasteur de Stenbrohult, Samuel Brodersonius. The Nile exerts this load of pastoral assistant since his arrival with Råshult in 1705, but in 1709, with died of his/her father-in-law, it becomes itself Pasteur of the parish and the family moves few hundreds of meters to the presbytery of Stenbrohult, at the edge of the Lake Möckeln.
The Nile is in love with the plants which transmits its passion to its young person wire, making it possible this one to maintain its own garden as of the 5 years age. But with a father and a grandfather pastors, the destiny of Carl is to follow their traces and to become also pasteur.
Carl leaves the family hearth at 9 years, on May 10th, 1716, to enter to the school of Växjö to forty kilometers of Stenbrohult. He continues then his studies with the college of the same city, as he integrates on July 11th, 1723 and than he leaves on May 6th, 1727.
But it hardly shows enthusiasm for the studies and the religious vocation. He prefers to be interested in the things of nature and to spend his time there. His/her comrades call it already “the small botanist”. The professors, in particular that of natural history, the Dr. Johan Stensson Rothman (1684-1763), convince finally the parents of Carl not to impose a religious career to him and to allow him to begin from the studies of médecine.
It is finally his/her young brother, Samuel, who succeeding his father and his grandfather, will become Pasteur de Stenbrohult.

The studied brilliance of the university of Uppsala

Registered under the name of “ Carolus Linnæus ”, it begins its studies with the Université of Lund in 1727. It receives there in particular the teaching of Kilian Stobæus (1690-1742), the future professor and vice-chancellor of the university, then still only doctor in Médecine, which offers its friendship to him and its encouragements and opens its collections and its library to him.

However, on the councils of its former professor de Växjö, Dr. Johan Stensson Rothman, it is registered with prestigious the Université of Uppsala which it joined in September 1728, where it can indeed find the richness general of knowledge which is appropriate to him.

Very little developed at that time, the studies of medicine were followed only by one ten students on the five approximately hundreds whom the University counted and it was not expected that one can support his thesis of doctorate in Sweden. But medical teaching included a big part of botany, in particular the training of the characters of the plants, their medicinal virtues and in the manner of preparing them in pharmacy. These studies were undoubtedly the means, even the pretext, for Carolus Linnæus to devote itself to its passion for botany. Arrived at Uppsala without a valiant penny, it is necessary for him also to provide for its own existence. Whereas hardly arrived downtown, he visits the botanical garden founded by Olof Rudbeck (1630-1702), he is noticed and taken charges some by Olof Celsius (1670-1756), the senior of the cathedral and uncle of the scientist Anders Celsius (1701-1744). Olof Celsius introduces Linné to Olof Rudbeck the Young person (1660-1740), itself doctor naturalist, who engages the young student as tutor of his sons and gives access to him its library. Linné replaces a time the assistant of Rudbeck, the Nile Rozén (1706-1773), then travels from there abroad.

Linné precisely has as professor Olof Rudbeck the Young person, like Lars Roberg (1664-1742).

It is in Uppsala, as of the 24 years age, which it conceives its classification of the plants according to the sexual organs and starts to expose it in its Hortus uplandicus .

It is as in Uppsala, as Linné binds friendship with Peter Artedi (1705-1735), its elder two years, which also resulting from a medium of church, intended to become Pasteur and come to study theology, is interested finally more in the natural history, particularly to fish.

Through Europe: voyages of exploration to notoriety

It leads scientific expeditions in Lapland and Dalécarlie. It brings back a very rich collection of vegetable, animal and mineral specimens. Although it gives conferences of botany and that it is regarded in Uppsala as a genius, it does not have yet a diploma of medicine. In 1735, it leaves to the Netherlands where it decides to obtain its diploma with the Université of Harderwijk and to publish its writings. It then meets Jan Frederik Gronovius (1686-1762) with which it shows its manuscript Systema Naturae . This one if is impressed that it decides to pay its edition. A little later it receives the support of influential the George Clifford (1685-1760), president of the Compagnie Dutchwoman of the Eastern Indies and distinguished botanist. It also meets Hermann Boerhaave (1668-1738) and Albertus Seba (1665-1736). It obtains finally its title of doctor of medicine, after a short stay with the Université of Harderwijk, then it leaves to work with the Université of Leyde, more prestigious.

Between 1735 and 1738, it visits the Great Britain and the France where it makes the meeting of Antoine-Laurent de Jussieu and of Claude Richard with Trianon.

The return in Sweden

It turns over then in Sweden, where, not receiving a proposal which satisfies it, it exerts medicine with Stockholm.

It Marie the June 26th 1739 with Sara Elisabeth Moræa (1716-1806), originating in Shelly sand. Together they will have seven children, two boys and five girls: Carl (1741-1783), Elisabeth Christina (1743-1782), Sara Magdalena (1744, deceased at the fifteen days age), Lovisa (1749-1839), Sara Christina (1751-1835), Johan (1754-1757) and Sofia (1757-1830).

Finally, in 1741, it obtains the pulpit of Médecine at the university of Uppsala then that of botany, function which it will occupy until its death.

In 1747, he becomes royal family practitioner of Sweden and obtains a title of nobility in 1761.


Its work

Systema naturæ

The most important work of Linné is its Systema naturæ (systems of Nature) which knows many successive editions, the first going back to 1735. Each one of them improves its system and widens it. It is with the tenth edition, of 1758, that Linné generalizes the system of nomenclature binominale.

But its classification is sometimes completely artificial. Thus in the sixth edition of Systema Naturæ (1748), it classifies the Oiseau X in six great units to answer, harmoniously, with the six units which it uses to classify the Mammifère S.

It defines clearly certain groups as the class of the Amphibien S. For that, it uses the animals described elsewhere (as in works of Seba, Aldrovandi, Catesby, Jonston or other authors). But, most of the time, it describes the species according to specimens which it can itself study.

Species plantarum

It is in 1753 that Linné makes publish Species plantarum (species of the plants) where it describes approximately 8000 different plants for which it puts pursuant to systematic manner the binomial nomenclature of which he is the promoter.

Its correspondences

Settings on sale by the widow of Linné in 1783 to provide for its own needs and those of his/her daughters, the very many letters with Linné of the greatest figures of the time of the world of sciences and the ideas reveal all the intellectual richness of the character and clarify the controversies which agitated the European thought then.

Pearls of Linné

At the time of its voyage in Lapland in 1732, Linné visits fisheries of pearls to the lake of Purkijaure. It is necessary to open thousands of shells to find the so rare pearls: that the intrigue. Of return to Uppsala, it tries an experiment, introduces a small fine plaster amount into pearl-bearing mussels and replaces those in the river of the city, the Fyris. Six years later, it collects several pearls of the size of a pea.

It improves the technique then using a money wire to hold granulates it generating far away from the wall of the shell. Mother-of-pearl can thus settle regularly to form a spherical pearl. It sells its patent in 1762, but the purchaser neglects to benefit from it.

It is only in 1900 that the invention of Linné is redécouverte during the reading of its manuscripts preserved at London. At the 20th century, the Japanese develop the pearl-bearing culture then and the techniques improve some.


Its ideas

Nomenclature linnéenne

See also: Nomenclature binominale

Linné develops its system nomenclature binominale, which makes it possible to indicate with precision all the vegetable animal species and (and, later, minerals) thanks to a combination of two Latin names (the binomial), which includes/understands:

  • a name of kind to the Personal singular (or treated like such), whose first letter is a capital );
  • a specific epithet , which can be a Adjectif, a name with the Génitif or a attribute, agreeing with the grammatical Genre (male, female or neutral) of the name of kind. He is written entirely in tiny). The epithet often evokes a feature characteristic of the species, and can be formed starting from a name of anybody, an etc, place name

NB. The name of the species is consisted the whole of the binomial. These names are “famous Latin”, whatever their true origin (Greek, Chinese or different), and written in Latin alphabet (letters of A to Z and bindings æ and œ, as in French, but without Diacritiques nor accents).

This system binominal makes it possible to avoid even resorting to the vernacular names, which vary from one country to another, of one area the other. For example, the russet-red Renard is called in Japanese aka-kitsune , but a naturalist Japanese will include/understand the name Latin, international, of Vulpes vulpes .

However, with the multiplication of the recombinations, the synonyms and divergent interpretations authors, the “names scientific” current are sometimes more unstable and difficult to handle that the vernacular names.

Systematic creationist

See also: Systematic, Creationism

Linné is a naturalist “Fixiste”. For him, the alive species were created by God at the time of the Genèse and did not vary since. The original intention of its system is to show the size of divine creation. The hierarchical order of the Taxons is founded there on “morphological” criteria of resemblance and supposed affinities, without establishing relation Génétique or Phylogénétique between the species.

But, thereafter, progressively of advanced knowledge, in particular starting from work of Lamarck and Darwin, the Systématique took various forms (phenetic, evolutionist, phylogenetic…), to lead nowadays to systematic pragmatic (“with the daily newspaper”) which tries to take into account the various specific data to each method.

Linné and the Bible

Linné, like other scientists of its time, has difficulties in reconciling the contents of the Bible with its knowledge. He explains thus that the Garden of Eden was as a tropical island which was to comprise an high mountain. This one, whose climate changes with altitude, offers habitats for other forms of life accustomed to the moderate and Arctic areas.

The influence of Linné

Its pupils

Linné had an immense influence on the naturalists of its time. Many are those which come to attend its course, to learn its method to apply it in their country. Many are those which embark for remote regions to recognize the flora there, Linné itself names them its apostles . All these naturalists find with the systematic one and the nomenclature linnéenne a means of making progress knowledge.

It is with its collaboration that Philibert Commerson could write its treaty of Ichtyologie. It had also some other correspondents such as Frederic-Louis Allamand.

Among its many pupils, let us quote: Anders Dahl, Daniel Solander, Johan Christian Fabricius, Martin Vahl or Charles de Géer.

It is necessary to also quote the naturalist Swedish Peter Artedi (1705-1735). The two men meet with the Université of Uppsala, bind friendship then separate, Linné leaving for the Lapland and Artedi for the Great Britain. Before their departure, they bequeath their manuscripts in the event of death mutually. But Artedi drowns accidentally with Amsterdam where it came to carry out the catalog of the collections of Ichtyologie of Albertus Seba (1665-1736). According to their agreement, Linné inherits the manuscripts of Artedi. It makes them appear under the title of Bibliotheca Ichthyologica and Philosophia Ichthyologica , accompanied by a biography of their author, with Leyde in 1738.

Its influence is exerted through all the continents: Pehr Kalm in North America, Fredric Hasselquist in Egypt and Palestine, Andreas Berlin in Africa, Pehr Forsskål with the the Middle East, Pehr Löfling with the Venezuela, Pehr Osbeck and Olof Torén in China and Southeast Asia, Carl Peter Thunberg with the Japan…

Its character egocentric person, combined with an extreme ambition, the conduit, like Buffon, to persecute those which do not choose its system. But it is the first, following in that John Ray, to use a clear concept of species which of anything is not decreased by its conviction of the immutability of the species.

Criticisms

Contrary to the majority of the European naturalists who recognize the revolution linnéenne, of the naturalists and the French philosophers like Julien Offray of Mettrie, Denis Diderot, Buffon or Maupertuis criticize the Systématique linnéenne. What is reproached to him is its artificial character and creationist. The company of Linné makes only partially call to the reason, and little incentive to the experimentation. They reproach him also a step influence of religiosity because Linné is seen as a new Adam describing and naming creation. For all these reasons the philosophers of the Lumières in France cannot recognize it like one as of theirs. Finally, of the ideas of Linné, only the Nomenclature binominale will survive…

The Linnea first name

Running to Sweden, the first name " Linnea" from a flower of wood, named Linnaea borealis derives, in homage to Carl von Linné, by its professor Jan Frederik Gronovius.

The companies linnéennes

See also: Companies linnéennes, On the companies linnéennes

Orientation bibliography

Works of Linné

Principal publications

(the date indicates the first edition)
  • Præludia sponsaliarum plantarum (1729)
  • Fundamenta botanica quae majorum operum prodromi instar theoriam scientiae botanices per breves aphorismos tradunt (1732)
  • Systema naturæ (1735)
  • Fundamenta botanica (1735)
  • Bibliotheca botanica (1736) botanica recensens libros more thousand of plantis huc usque editos secundum systema auctorum naturale in classes, process, generated and species ''
  • Critica botanica (1736)
  • Genera plantarum (Ratio operis) (1737)
  • Corollarium generum plantarum (1737) on Gallica
  • Flora lapponica (1737) lapponica exhibens planted per Lapponiam Crescentes, secundum Systema Sexuale Collectas in Itinere Impensis ''
  • Ichthyologia (1738), where Linné publishes work of his/her colleague and friendly Peter Artedi accidentally deceased
  • Classes plantarum on Bibliotheca Augustana
  • Hortus Cliffortiana (1738)
  • Flora suecica (1745)
  • Fauna suecica (1746)
  • Hortus Upsaliensis (1748)
  • Philosophia botanica (1751)
  • Species plantarum (1753)
  • Flora anglica (1754)
  • Animalium specierum , Leyde: Haak, (1759)
  • Fundamentum fructificationis (1762)
  • Fructus esculenti (1763)
  • Fundamentorum botanicorum leave I and II (1768)
  • Fundamentorum botanicorum tomoi (1787)

Bibliographies

For a bibliography (old and partial), to see:

  • British Museum, has Catalog off the works off Linnaeus (and publications more immediately relating thereto) preserved in the libraries off the British Museum (Bloomsbury) and the British Museum (History National) (South Kensigton) , British Museum (Natural History), London, 1933, réimpr. Fine Martino Books, Mansfield, S.D., 246-65-59 p.

Translations, republications

  • Carl von Linné, Voyage in Lapland , the Difference, coll “Minos”, Paris, 2nd ED., 2002,318 p.
  • Carl von Linné, Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Darinka Soban (ED.), Joannes A. Scopoli/Carl Linnaus: dopisivanje (1760-1775) , Giovanni Antonio Scopoli/Carl von Linné: correspondence (1760-1775)”, Prirodoslovno društvo Slovenije Natural History Society, coll “Proteusova knjiznica”, Ljubljana, 2004,348 p.

Monograph on Linné and linneism

  • Wilfrid Blunt, Linné (1707-1778). The prince of the botanists , coll a scientist, one time, Paris, Belin Editions, 1986,350p.
  • Pascal Duris (1993). Linné and France (1780-1850) . Droz (Geneva): 281 p.
  • Thierry Hoquet (to dir.) (2005). Bases of botany. Linné and the classification of the plants . Vuibert (Paris): viii + 290 p.

External bonds

  • correspondence of Linné

  • VisitSweden - the official site of the Swedish Office of Tourism
  • Biography of Carl Von Linné (in English)
  • Bioscope: the classification of alive the

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