About Linnaeus

Much more than a Flower King

Carl Linnaeus is without comparison Sweden’s internationally most famous scientist. He is sometimes called the Flower King, renowned for his method of classifying plants, presented in 1735 in Systema Naturae. However, Linnaeus’ curiosity and creativity also drew him to other disciplines. He was not only a natural scientist, botanist, zoologist and geologist, but also a physician, health adviser and philosopher. One could say that Linnaeus was thinking in an interdisciplinary way, observing the interactions between people and nature. In modern terms, one might call him the first ecologist.

To this day, we can find inspiration in his statement that scientists should not shut themselves away, but should work in the field to study the world in an inquisitive scientific way, seeking and disseminating knowledge. The scientific expeditions that Linnaeus personally undertook together with his students illustrate this.

You will find more information about Carl Linnaeus on the Uppsala University website Linnaeus online.