Digital publication of Linnaeus’ correspondence

Carl Linnaeus was well aware of the scientific value of his correspondence. By the time of his death in 1778 he had received more than 3,000 letters from Europe, America, Asia and Africa. These were received from natural history scientists like himself, as well as from his students on different expeditions all over the world. Linnaeus had more than 600 correspondents! Together with the 2,000 letters preserved from Linnaeus himself, this material represents an invaluable source of information for scholars of science as well as of history.

As part of the preparations for the Tercentenary in 2007 of Linnaeus birth, the Swedish Linnaeus Society initiated a publication of Linnaeus' correspondence. A similar project had been initiated 100 years earlie. However, due to lack of funding the project ended after ten volumes.

The digital publication of Linnaeus’ correspondence is still under progress and has since 2013 been taken over by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The letters are available in the database Alvin: Linnaean Correspondence. They are both published as digital facsimiles, and accompanied by a detailed summary in English with links to biographical and bibliographical databases. 

The Linnaeus' correspondence project is funded by the Swedish Central Bank through Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. Support has also been given by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Uppsala University and The Linnean Society of London.