Carl Linnaeus

biology · taxonomy · scientist · organization

Organized all life. Carl Linnaeus created a simple naming system called binomial nomenclature that gives every living thing two names, like a first and last name. This system is still used by scientists everywhere today.

Swedish naturalist. Linnaeus was a Swedish biologist and physician who lived in the 1700s and spent his life studying plants, animals, and other organisms to understand how they fit together.

Wrote in Latin. Most of his scientific writings were in Latin, a language scholars used across Europe, so scientists from different countries could all read and learn from his work.

Got a fancy title. In 1761, the King of Sweden made Linnaeus a noble, which meant he became Carl von Linné and earned a special honor for his important discoveries.

Father of taxonomy. People call Linnaeus the 'father of modern taxonomy' because he created the whole system we use to organize living things into groups like kingdom, class, and genus.