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Scientists today place all life in neat categories with sensible names that do not change. A few hundred years ago, though, scientists gave plants and animals long Latin names and often changed those names at will. Carl Linnaeus changed that when he developed an organized system that is still used today.
Fun Facts

Carl Linnaeus was born in Sweden in 1707. His father was a Lutheran minister and an avid gardener.

Carl inherited his father's love of plants. As a young child, his parents would offer him a flower when he was upset. The flowers seemed to calm him.

Carl's father taught him at home until he was 11. He learned Latin, geography, and religion. He was later sent to a private school, but he seldom went to class. He preferred to be out in the fields studying.

He showed no interest in becoming a priest, much to his parents' disappointment.

Instead, he decided to become a doctor. His medical studies included extensive lessons in botany - or the study of plants. Doctors then used medicines made from plants, so it was very important that they understood them.

Carl went on several trips throughout Europe to find and collect plants. He brought plant specimens back with him to Sweden.

He began to develop a system of classifying plants and animals. He put them into the groups that are still used today - kingdoms, classes, orders, genera, and species.

Carl wrote several volumes describing his findings and his system for organizing and naming forms of life.

After medical school, Carl practiced medicine and became a highly respected university professor. He eventually became the Swedish royal family's physician and was given a title of nobility.

Many of his students went on expeditions around the world to gather plants.

Carl wanted to help Sweden's economy and prevent the famines that often occurred there. He tried to adapt coffee, cacao, and rice crops to grow in Sweden. His efforts failed.

Carl was deeply religious. He said that studying nature helped him understand and come closer to God.

Carl was married and had seven children. His son, also named Carl, became a botanist too. He died not long after his father.

Questions and Answers
Question: What happened to Carl's books, writings, and plant specimens?

Answer: After his death, his widow, Sara, sold them to James Edward Smith, an Englishman who formed the Linnaean Society of London, an organization that still exists today.

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Scientists today place all life in neat categories with sensible names that do not change. A few hundred years ago, though, scientists gave plants and animals long Latin names and often changed those names at will. Carl Linnaeus changed that when he developed an organized system that is still used today.

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He explains his new classification system, which is known as taxonomy, and how it helps us determine what an organism is.

The naming is decided by their genus and species.

We learn about how he came up with the idea on a research visit to Lapland.

His scientific process involved observing, recording the information and making conclusions.

He divided animals into seven classes: 1. mammals, 2. Birds, 3.amphibians, 4. Fish, 5. Insects, 6. Worms.

He gave each organism a two part Latin scientific name and used hierarchy, which showed how important each animal was.

The system could be used across the whole world.

Humans are homo sapiens; a house cat would be felus catus.

We learn about a book he wrote book called the System of Nature. He challenges his audience to classify a dog or a rabbit. We learn key scientific terminology and skills throughout the film.

The process shows an example of thinking skills.

This clip is from the series Scientists and Scientific Method.

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This vlog style film introduces the work of Swedish scientist, Carl Linnaeus. He talks about his scientific method - taxonomy - used for classifying plants, animals and stones. Suitable for teaching Science at Key Stage 2 and at 2nd Level in Scotland.

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Linnaeus earned a medical degree in 1735 at a university in Holland. In Holland, Linnaeus was made director of a large botanical garden. Over the next few years he published System Naturae ("System of Nature") and Genera Plantarum ("Species of Plants"). There were many editions of both works.

In Systema Naturae Linnaeus presented a classification of three kingdoms of nature: stones, plants, and animals. Each kingdom was subdivided into classes, orders, genera, species, and varieties. This system is still used in biology, though it has been revised over the years. In Genera Plantarum Linnaeus presented a system that classified plants based on the form and structure of the plants.

Linnaeus's most-lasting achievement was the creation of the binomial (two-name) classification system. In this system, each living thing is assigned a name consisting of two Latin words. The first word is the genus to which the subject belongs. The second name is the specific species within that genus. For example, the human species is known as Homo sapiens.

Linnaeus returned to Stockholm in 1738. In 1742 he was appointed to a position in the botany department at Uppsala. He spent the rest of his career there.

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Linnaeus earned a medical degree in 1735 at a university in Holland. In Holland, Linnaeus was made director of a large botanical garden. Over the next few years he published System Naturae ("System of Nature") and Genera Plantarum ("Species of Plants"). There were many editions of both works.