Carolus Linnæus

Carolus Linnæus, (born 23 May 1707 – died 10 January 1778), was also known as Carl von Linné after his ennoblement, and nicknamed Pliny of the North in reference to Pliny the Elder. He was a Swedish naturalist who laid the foundations of the modern system of binomial nomenclature, identifying nearly 6,000 plant species and 4,400 animal species. Father of the concept of biodiversity, his taxonomy system became the reference nomenclature in the 19th century. His research was based on a fixist conception of the universe (a historical context spanning several thousand years that does not take into account the evolution of species over time), inspired by the classification of the Greek philosopher Aristotle, and creationist biblical doctrine. Charles Darwin was to definitively abolish this concept a century later.