
Linnaeus in Oxford University - Oxford, UK
Posted by:
tmob
N 51° 45.244 W 001° 15.263
30U E 620488 N 5735127
Linnaeus spent a month working with John Jacob Dillenius at Oxford University in 1736
Waymark Code: WMNRQ1
Location: Southern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 04/26/2015
Views: 10
Linnaeus, Dillenius and Oxford
"Linnaeus visited the University of Oxford Botanic Garden in 1736 where he met Dillenius. John Jacob Dillenius (1684-1747), originally from Germany, became the first Sherardian Professor of Botany in 1734. Previously he had worked in James Sherard’s garden at Eltham and published a two volume work of these plants Hortus Elthamensis in 1732, with 324 plates drawn and engraved by himself. A copy of this book is still held in Plant Sciences Library and original specimens are in Dillenius’ herbarium in Oxford University Herbaria. The initial meeting of these two botanists (who did not share a common language) did not go well. However Dillenius soon became very impressed by Linnaeus and his new radical way of classifying the world’s plants and they soon became the best of friends. When Linnaeus left after a week, Dillenius was in tears and offered Linnaeus half of his professorial stipend to remain in Oxford. They corresponded for the rest of their lives and exchanged dried plants and seeds. Many of the specimens Linnaeus sent to Dillenius had been cited in his Flora Lapponica, 1737. Dillenius sent Linnaeus copies of his own publication, the Hortus Elthamensis and the Historia Muscorum, 1741 which Linnaeus cites frequently in Species Plantarum."
-- Source
Coordinates are from The Bodleian Library, the main research library of the University of Oxford, one of the oldest libraries in Europe, established in 1602; a building probably visited by Linnaeus during his stay in Oxford.