Carl Linnaeus, also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné, was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organisms. He is known as the "father of modern taxonomy". Many of his writings were in Latin; his name is rendered in Latin as Carolus Linnæus and, after his 1761 ennoblement, as Carolus a Linné.
Carl von Linné by Alexander Roslin, 1775 (oil on canvas, Gripsholm Castle)
Birthplace at Råshult
Statue as a university student in Lund, by Ansgar Almquist
Pollination depicted in Praeludia Sponsaliorum Plantarum (1729)
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature, also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages. Such a name is called a binomial name, a binomen, binominal name, or a scientific name; more informally it is also historically called a Latin name. In the ICZN, the system is also called binominal nomenclature, "binomi'N'al" with an "N" before the "al", which is not a typographic error, meaning "two-name naming system".
Orcinus orca, the orca or the killer whale
Trichocereus macrogonus var. pachanoi, the San Pedro cactus
Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778), a Swedish botanist, invented the modern system of binomial nomenclature
The bacterium Escherichia coli, commonly shortened to E. coli