Blunt, Wilfrid (Author)
Stearn, William T. (Author)
The life of Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), the man who gave living organisms two Latin names, is celebrated afresh in this newly revised and magnificently illustrated edition of the definitive biography. In his native Sweden, Linnaeus is revered by children as the "Prince of Flowers" and by adults as a great biologist, the author of classics on natural history, and, owing to his impassioned study of the sex life of plants, as history's foremost "botanical pornographer." Linnaeus was of pivotal importance in the Age of Enlightenment. Though an adventurous traveler, keen collector, zoologist, and geologist, he loved botany most of all. The son of a pastor, he believed he was chosen by God to resolve the jumbled classification of the natural world. Through his Systema Naturae, first published in 1735, he brought order to all recorded knowledge about living things, distinguishing and naming 7,700 plants and 4,400 animals in his lifetime. This book gives a fascinating and rounded portrait of Linnaeus the man, charting his rise from a poor student at Lund University to Professor of Medicine at Uppsala and a founder of the Royal Academy of Sciences. Wilfrid Blunt's engaging text is interspersed with vivid passages from his subject's own writings--from riveting descriptions of adventures in the wilds of Lapland to a charming account of Sjupp the raccoon. Linnaeus's family life and his relations with pupils are explored alongside his epoch-making scientific achievements. William Stearn's appendix on Linnean classification provides a concise survey of the basics necessary for understanding Linnaeus's work. Impeccably researched and highly readable, this biography is ideal for anyone interested in botany, zoology, or mineralogy, as well as naturalists and gardeners. It brings the world of Linnaeus alive with over 200 beautiful illustrations, including evocative photographs and exquisite eighteenth-century botanical drawings, paintings, and engravings.
...MoreReview Brian W. Ogilvie (2003) Review of "Linnaeus: The Compleat Naturalist". Journal of the History of Biology (pp. 426-428).
Chapter
Frängsmyr, Tore;
(2001)
Linnaeus and the Classification Tradition in Sweden
(/isis/citation/CBB000330468/)
Book
Duris, Pascal;
(2006)
Linné. Classer la nature
(/isis/citation/CBB001221071/)
Article
Charmantier, Isabelle;
(2011)
Carl Linnaeus and the Visual Representation of Nature
(/isis/citation/CBB001220834/)
Article
Hodacs, Hanna;
(2010)
In the Field: Exploring Nature with Carolus Linnaeus
(/isis/citation/CBB000933705/)
Article
Sjöberg, Cajsa;
(2007)
Eric Gustaf Lidbeck, nyttan och naturen
(/isis/citation/CBB001220354/)
Book
Prat, Daniel;
Raynal-Roques, Aline;
Roguenant, Albert;
(2008)
Peut-on classer le vivant?: Linné et la systématique aujourd'hui
(/isis/citation/CBB001221140/)
Article
Müller-Wille, Staffan;
Charmantier, Isabelle;
(2012)
Natural History and Information Overload: The Case of Linnaeus
(/isis/citation/CBB001221582/)
Article
Müller-Wille, Staffan;
Scharf, Sara T.;
(2009)
Indexing Nature: Carl Linnaeus (1707--1778) and His Fact-Gathering Strategies
(/isis/citation/CBB001221435/)
Article
Müller-Wille, Staffan;
Charmantier, Isabelle;
(2012)
Lists as Research Technologies
(/isis/citation/CBB001252385/)
Book
Michael Köhncke;
(2019)
Rattus, Mus und Pantholops – Säugetiere und ihre Namensgeber. Ein Blick in die Geschichte der Zoologie von 1758 bis 1849. Dargestellt an den Autorender Säugetiergattungen in Wort und Bild. 100 biographische Skizzen und 500 Gattungen.
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Book
Skuncke, Marie-Christine;
(2014)
Carl Peter Thunberg: Botanist and Physician: Career-Building across the Oceans in the Eighteenth Century
(/isis/citation/CBB001510112/)
Article
Duris, Pascal;
(2007)
Célébrer le tricentenaire de la naissance de Linné?
(/isis/citation/CBB001221086/)
Article
Joeri Witteveen;
Staffan Müller-Wille;
(2020)
Of Elephants and Errors: Naming and Identity in Linnaean Taxonomy
(/isis/citation/CBB505474716/)
Article
Kobelinski, Michel;
(2013)
O inventário das curiosidades botânicas da Nouvelle France de Pierre-François-Xavier de Charlevoix (1744)
(/isis/citation/CBB001420630/)
Chapter
Jonsell, Bengt;
(2008)
Les principes linnéens et leur devenir face à l'évolution moderne de la systématique des plantes
(/isis/citation/CBB001221141/)
Article
Scharf, Sara T.;
(2009)
Identification Keys, the “Natural Method,” and the Development of Plant Identification Manuals
(/isis/citation/CBB000932209/)
Article
Breidbach, Olaf;
Ghiselin, Michael T.;
(2006)
Baroque Classification: A Missing Chapter in the History of Systematics
(/isis/citation/CBB000933663/)
Chapter
Duris, Pascal;
(2008)
Traduire Linné en français à la fin du XVIIIe siècle
(/isis/citation/CBB000954614/)
Article
Müller-Wille, S.;
(2013)
Systems and How Linnaeus Looked at Them in Retrospect
(/isis/citation/CBB001320280/)
Article
Theodore W. Pietsch;
Hans Aili;
(2023)
Peter Artedi's early observations of the spotted hyena and other exotic animals during a visit to London (1734–1735)
(/isis/citation/CBB731879130/)
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