Contribution of Karl Linnaeus to biology (briefly). What contribution did Carl Linnaeus make to the development of biology?

Outstanding scientist Karl Linnaeus was born in 1707 in Sweden. The most famous for him was the system of classification of the living world. It had and is of great importance for all biology. The researcher traveled a lot around the world. The contribution of Karl Linnaeus to biology is also expressed in the definition of many important concepts and terms.

Childhood and youth

Interest in plants and the whole living world of the little Charles appeared in his earliest 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 carried away by plants that this affected his studies. His parents were from the families of the 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 cautiously accepted the hobbies of his son. However, in the end, they agreed that Karl went to study for a doctor. In 1727, he was at Lund University, and a year later transferred to Uppsala University, which was larger and more prestigious. There he met with Peter Artedi. Young guys became best friends. Together they began to revise the existing classification in natural science.

Also Karl Linnaeus met with Professor Olof Celsius. This meeting was of great importance for the beginning scientist. Celsius became his companion and helped in a difficult moment. The contribution of Karl Linnaeus to biology is concluded not only in his late, but even in youthful works. For example, during these years he published his first monograph, which was devoted to the genital system of plants.

Travels of a naturalist

In 1732 Carl Linnaeus went to Lapland. This trip was dictated by several goals. The scientist wanted to enrich his knowledge with practical experience. Theoretical work and long studies within the walls of the office could not continue indefinitely.

Lapland is a severe northern province in Finland, which at that time was part of Sweden. The uniqueness of these lands consisted of a rare flora and fauna, unknown to the ordinary European of that era. Linnaeus alone traveled for five months along this far-off edge, exploring plants, animals and minerals. The result of the voyage was a colossal herbarium collected by a naturalist. Many of the exhibits were unique and unknown to science. Carl Linnaeus began to describe them from scratch. This experience has greatly helped him in the future. After the expedition, he published several works on nature, plants, animals, etc. These publications were extremely popular in Sweden. Thanks to Karl Linnaeus, the country was able to learn a lot about itself.

It was also connected with the fact that the scientist published ethnographic descriptions of the everyday life and customs of the Saami. The isolated people lived for centuries in the Far North, practically not touching the rest of the civilization. Many of Linnaeus's notes are especially interesting today, since the original life of the inhabitants of the North at the time was left in the past.

The Saami objects, plants, shells and minerals collected in that journey became the basis of the scholar's extensive collection. It was replenished until his death. Having visited 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 the contribution of Karl Linnaeus to biology (especially for his era).

"The system of nature"

In 1735, the Netherlands published the "System of Nature". 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. Zoological nomenclature, proposed in the tenth edition of the author's lifetime, gave the science binomial names. Now they are used everywhere. They are written in Latin and represent the species and genus of the animal.

Thanks to this book in the whole of science (not only in zoology or botany) a systematic method has triumphed. Each living creature received the characteristics by which it was attributed to the kingdom (for example, to animals), the group, the genus, the species, etc. The contribution of Karl Linnaeus to biology is difficult to overestimate. Only during the life of the author this book was published 13 times (additions and clarifications were added).

"Types of plants"

As stated above, the plants were a special passion of the Swedish scientist. Botany was a discipline, which was dedicated to their work by numerous vivid researchers, including Karl Linnaeus. 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 kinds of plants known at that time to science. Particular attention was paid to the reproductive system (pestles and stamens). In the "Plant Species", a binominal nomenclature was used, successfully applied in the past works of the scientist. After the first edition was followed by the second, on which he worked directly Karl Linnaeus. The contribution to biology, briefly described in each textbook, made this science extremely popular. Linnaeus left a pleiad of students who successfully continued the work of the teacher. For example, Karl Wildenov, after the author's death, supplemented this book, based on the principles worked out by the Swedish naturalist. The contribution to biology made by Carl Linnaeus, and today is of fundamental importance for this science.

last years of life

In the last years of his life, Carl Linnaeus was practically inefficient. In 1774, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage, because of which the researcher was partly paralyzed. After the second blow he lost his memory and soon died. This happened in 1778. Even during his lifetime, Linnaeus became a recognized scientist and a national pride. He was buried in the Uppsala cathedral, where he studied in his youth.

The final work of the scientist was a multivolume edition of his lectures for students. Teaching was the sphere that Karl Linney devoted a lot of time and energy to. Contribution to biology (briefly known to him by every educated person during the life of a naturalist) made him an authority in the most diverse institutions of higher education in Europe.

Interesting Facts

In addition to his main activity, the researcher has also devoted himself to the classification of odors. He founded his system on seven main smells, such as carnations, musk, etc. Anders Celsius, who became the creator of the famous scale, left behind a machine that showed 100 degrees at the freezing point of the water. Zero, on the other hand, meant boiling. Linnaeus, who often used the scale, felt that such an option was uncomfortable. He "turned" 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 that the scientist is famous for.