Sweden
300th Anniversary of the Birth of Carl Linnaeus
300th Anniversary of the Birth of Carl Linnaeus
On May 10, 2007, Sweden issued a souvenir sheet commemorating the 300th Anniversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus. The stamps in the souvenir sheet depict botanical illustrations by his collaborator Georg Dionys of Musa x paradisiaca (dessert bananas) and Podophyllum peltatum (mayapple).
Linnaeus, born on May 23, 1707, was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, and physician who formalised the modern system of naming organisms. He is known as the "father of modern taxonomy." 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. He was eager to work with George Clifford who became famous for growing the first indoor banana tree in 1736 and they collaborated with Georg Dionysius Ehret on the Hortus Cliffortianus that was published in 1837. Linnaeus also published the first edition of his Systema Naturae in the Netherlands before he 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 on January 10, 1778.
Bibliography
"Carl Linnaeus." Wikipedia. 12 Nov. 2020. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Web. 18 Nov. 2020. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Linnaeus.
"Georg Dionysius Ehret." Wikipedia. 12 Aug. 2020. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Web. 18 Nov. 2020. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Dionysius_Ehret.
"Hortus Cliffortianus." Wikipedia. 31 Oct. 2020. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Web. 18 Nov. 2020. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hortus_Cliffortianus.
Kloetzel, James E. ed.
"Sweden." Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue. Sidney, Ohio: Amos Media, 2015.
"Musa × paradisiaca." Wikipedia. 24 Oct. 2020. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Web. 18 Nov. 2020. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_%C3%97_paradisiaca.
"Podophyllum." Wikipedia. 7 Oct. 2020. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Web. 18 Nov. 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podophyllum.
