Carl Linnaeus
"Carl Linnaeus (23 May[note 1] 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné, was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organisms. He is known as the "father of modern taxonomy". Many of his writings were in Latin, and his name is rendered in Latin as Carolus Linnæus (after 1761 Carolus a Linné).
Linnaeus was born in the countryside of Småland in southern Sweden. He received most of his higher education at Uppsala University and began giving lectures in botany there in 1730. He lived abroad between 1735 and 1738, where he studied and also published the first edition of his Systema Naturae in the Netherlands. He then returned to Sweden where he became professor of medicine and botany at Uppsala. In the 1740s, he was sent on several journeys through Sweden to find and classify plants and animals. In the 1750s and 1760s, he continued to collect and classify animals, plants, and minerals, while publishing several volumes. He was one of the most acclaimed scientists in Europe at the time of his death.
Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau sent him the message: "Tell him I know no greater man on earth." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote: "With the exception of Shakespeare and Spinoza, I know no one among the no longer living who has influenced me more strongly." Swedish author August Strindberg wrote: "Linnaeus was in reality a poet who happened to become a naturalist." Linnaeus has been called Princeps botanicorum (Prince of Botanists) and "The Pliny of the North". He is also considered as one of the founders of modern ecology.
In botany and zoology, the abbreviation L. is used to indicate Linnaeus as the authority for a species' name. In older publications, the abbreviation "Linn." is found. Linnaeus's remains comprise the type specimen for the species Homo sapiens following the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, since the sole specimen that he is known to have examined was himself."
link
The statue of Carl Linnaeus
This statue is one of eight standing at each corner of the octagonal Palm House Building in Sefton Park.
"Sefton Park in Liverpool is arguably the best known and most loved by locals. Classified as a Grade One listed park by English Heritage, the magnificent 200-acre Park looks like a natural landscape rather than a man-made park. In spring the sight of millions of golden daffodils around the lake draws residents from across the city and carpets of bluebells give an impression of rural permanence.
The park features many distinctive curved paths and driveways and beech and other indigenous British trees abound. Amongst the park's many features are a boating lake, replica statues of Eros and Peter Pan and a café. The park is also home to the famous Palm House, a fabulous glass-panelled building that has been restored to its former glory."
link
The Palm House is a Historic England Grade II* Listed Building.
GV II* Palm House, built in 1896, designed by Mackenzie and Moncur. It is octagonal in plan. It has an iron frame on a granite base, with totally glazed openings. It appears as a sequence of three domical roofs, one above the other, including a clerestorey and lantern with a ball finial. The side elevations are of six bays with three round-arched lights and colonnettes to each bay, and ornamental cresting above. There are entrances to the north, south-east and west with barrel-vaulted porches that are enclosed at the sides and have ornamental gates, some with animals or birds. There are statues at each angle by Léon-Joseph Chavalliaud of famous gardeners, explorers and scientists. Flanking the north entrance are A le Notre and J Parkinson; to the east are Mercator and Captain Cook; to the south are Darwin and Linnaeus; and to the west are Henry the Navigator and Columbus."
link
The marble statue is roughly 1 1/3 life size and shows Carl Linnaeus dressed in historical clothing that he would have worn whilst plant hunting. He has a plant in his right hand, a cloth bag in his left and leather bags hanging from his belt. There is an inscription on the plinth.
LINNAEUS
CARL LINNE BORN AT RASHULT IN SOUTH SWEDEN MAY 1707
DIED AT UPSALA JANUARY 1776
TANTUS AMOR FLORUM
THE LORD HATH PERMITTED ME TO
VISIT HIS SECRET COUNCIL CHAMBERS
HE HATH MADE ME A NAME LIKE THE
NAME OF THE GREAT MEN THAT ARE
IN THE EARTH