Hall of Fame: Carolus von Linnaeus

Biographical info

Name: Originally named Carl Linné, he eventually Latinized his name to Carolus Linnaeus. He was knighted by the Swedish government, allowing him to address himself as Carl von Linné.

Born: 23 May 1707, in Sweden; Died: 10 January 1778 (honored by being buried in Uppsala Cathedral, equivalent to being entombed in Westminster Abbey).

Major Accomplishments:

Credited as the father of taxonomy, Linnaeus developed a system of binomial nomenclature by which we still classify living things. His most famous publications were his classification of animals in the 10th Edition of Systema Naturae (Linnaeus, 1758) and his classification of plants in Species Plantarum (Linnaeus, 1753). He is considered the type specimen of Homo sapiens. Despite his lasting contribution to science, he believed that species were special creations of God.

Honorific taxa:
Ascaltis caroli Haeckel, 1872

Eunaticina linnaeana Récluz, 1843

possibly Ommastrephes caroli Furtado, 1887