The outstanding scientist Karl Linney was born in 1707 in Sweden. The most famous was brought to him by the classification system of the living world. She had and is of great importance for all biology. The researcher traveled a lot around the world. Karl Linney's contribution to biology is also expressed in the definition of many important concepts and terms.
Childhood and youth
Little Karl became interested in plants and the whole living world in early childhood. This was due to the fact that his father was courting his own garden in the backyard of the house. The child was so keen on plants that it affected his studies. His parents were from the families of priests. Both father and mother wanted Karl to become a shepherd. However, the son did not study theology well. Instead, he spent his free time studying plants.
Parents at first were wary of their hobbies. However, in the end, they agreed that Karl went to study as a doctor. In 1727, he ended up at Lund University, and a year later transferred to Uppsala University, which was larger and more prestigious. There he met with Peter Arthady. Young guys became best friends. Together they took up the revision of the existing classification in the natural sciences.
Also, Karl Linney met Professor Olof Celsius. This meeting was of great importance to the beginning scientist. Celsius became his companion and helped in difficult times. The contribution of Carl Linnaeus to biology is concluded not only in his later, but even in his youthful works. For example, during these years he published his first monograph, which was devoted to the reproductive system of plants.
Naturalist Travels
In 1732, Karl Linney went to Lapland. This journey was dictated by several goals. The scientist wanted to enrich his knowledge with practical experience. Theoretical work and long research in the walls of the office could not continue indefinitely.
Lapland is a harsh northern province in Finland, which at that time was part of Sweden. The uniqueness of these lands was a rare flora and fauna, unknown to the average European of that era. For five months, Linnaeus traveled alone to this distant land, researching plants, animals, and minerals. The result of the voyage was a colossal herbarium collected by a naturalist. Many exhibits were unique and unknown to science. Karl Linney began to describe them from scratch. This experience helped him a lot in the future. After the expedition, he published several works on nature, plants, animals, etc. These publications were extremely popular in Sweden. Thanks to Carl Linnaeus, the country was able to learn a lot about itself.
This was also due to the fact that the scientist published ethnographic descriptions of the life and customs of the Sami. The isolated people lived for centuries in the Far North, practically not in contact with the rest of civilization. Many of Linnaeus's notes are especially interesting today, since the original life of the then inhabitants of the North remained in the past.
Sami items, plants, shells and minerals collected on that journey became the foundation of the scientist’s vast collection. She replenished until his death. After visiting various parts of the world, he collected artifacts everywhere, which he then carefully stored. This is about 19 thousand plants, 3 thousand insects, hundreds of minerals, shells and corals. Such a legacy shows how great Karl Linnaeus contributed to biology (especially for his era).
"System of nature"
In 1735, the System of Nature was published in the Netherlands. This work of Linnaeus is his main merit and success. He divided nature into several parts and gave the order of classification of the entire living world. The zoological nomenclature proposed in the tenth lifetime edition of the author gave science binomial names. Now they are used everywhere. They are written in Latin and reflect the species and genus of the animal.
Thanks to this book, a systematic method triumphed in all science (not only in zoology or botany). Each living creature received characteristics according to which it was attributed to the kingdom (for example, to animals), group, gender, species, etc. Karl Linney's contribution to biology is difficult to overestimate. Only during the author’s lifetime, this book was published 13 times (additions and clarifications were entered).
"Types of plants"
As mentioned above, plants were a special passion of the Swedish scientist. Botany was the discipline to which many brilliant researchers, including Karl Linnaeus, devoted their work. The contribution to science of the biology of this naturalist is reflected in his book “Plant Species”. It appeared in print in 1753 and was divided into two volumes. The publication became the basis for all subsequent nomenclature in botany.
The book contained detailed descriptions of all types of plants known to science at that time. Particular attention was paid to the reproductive system (pistils and stamens). In “Species of plants” was used binominal nomenclature, which was successfully applied in the past works of the scientist. After the first edition, the second followed, on which Karl Linney worked directly. The contribution to biology, briefly described in each textbook, has made this science extremely popular. Linnaeus left a galaxy of students who successfully continued the work of the teacher. For example, Karl Vildenov after the death of the author supplemented this book, based on the principles developed by the Swedish naturalist. The contribution that Karl Linney made to biology is still fundamental to this science.
last years of life
In the last years of his life, Karl Linney was practically inoperative. In 1774, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, due to which the researcher was partially paralyzed. After the second blow, he lost his memory and soon died. It happened in 1778. During his lifetime, Linnaeus became a recognized scientist and national pride. He was buried in the Uppsala Cathedral, where he studied in his youth.
The scientist's final work was the multivolume edition of his lectures for students. Teaching turned out to be the area to which Karl Linney devoted a lot of time and effort. Contribution to biology (every educated person briefly knew about him during the life of a naturalist) made him an authority in a variety of higher educational institutions in Europe.
Interesting Facts
In addition to his main activities, the researcher also devoted himself to the classification of odors. He based his system on seven main scents, such as cloves, musk, etc. Anders Celsius, who became the creator of the famous scale, left behind a device that showed 100 degrees at the freezing point of water. Zero, on the contrary, meant boiling. Linnaeus, who often used the scale, found this option uncomfortable. He “flipped” it. It is in this form that the scale exists today. Therefore, the contribution of Karl Linnaeus to the development of biology is not the only thing the scientist is famous for.