Carl Linnaeus: De man die de natuur rangschikte
Gunnar Broberg
Spectrum, 2020
€39,95
“God created, Linnaeus organized.” This is how Carl Linnaeus, the renowned Swedish physician, botanist, zoologist and geologist, described his contribution to science. Centuries later, this description still applies. His systematic division is still used all over the world, as are many of the names Linnaeus gave the individual species. Including the name for humans: homo sapiens.
His own scientific field trips were limited mainly to his home country of Sweden, but under his encouragement, his collaborators traveled around the world to collect new species. Based on their field research, Linnaeus then documented thousands of plant and animal species and was able to complete his inventory of the world, Systema Naturae.
But besides being a serious scientist, Linnaeus was a man praised for his wit and brilliant speeches. He was also an excellent networker, maintaining contact with botanists all over the world. And he was also highly appreciated outside his field. Goethe once wrote of him: “Except for Shakespeare and Spinoza, I don’t know anyone who has influenced me as much [as Linnaeus].”
Based on original sources, historian Gunnar Broberg takes the reader into the fascinating life of the father of biological classification. Carl Linnaeus is the first biography written about this leading Swedish scientist. The result is a colorful and complete portrait of a brilliant man. IN DUTCH!
ISBN: 9789000367566
