Happy Linnaeus Day!!

By Nick Matzke

Today is the 300th birthday of Linnaeus, aka Carl Linnaeus, Carolus Linnaeus, Carl von Linn̩, Carl Linn̩, etc. etc. Oh, heck, just call him Carl. Happy birthday, Carl! NPR reports that more than 600 birthday parties/science education events are going on around the planet this week Рnone bigger than in Sweden:

This month marks the 300th birthday of Carl Linnaeus, Sweden’s beloved botanist who gave order to the plant and animal kingdoms.

The Swedes will celebrate on Wednesday with a jubilee in Uppsala, complete with Linnaeus cream cakes.

And well they should, “Carl Linnaeus is by far the most internationally well-known Swede that has ever lived”!

Break out the meatballs while you’re at it! The NPR story also goes a bit into how DNA and the proliferation of ranks are continually changing Linnaeus’s system.

Sadly, there is nothing in the story about Hennig and cladistics – Hennig’s 100th is coming up in 2013 – but even if rank-free taxonomy completely takes over eventually, I bet Linnaeus will still cast enough of a shadow to get some birthday parties in 2107.

Here is the official Linnaeus 2007 website.

HT: Brent Mishler