Greetings! Who am I, you may wonder? Well, my name is Carl Von Linné, also known as Carolus Linnaeus. I am here to tell you shortly about my life and my discoveries, so please do listen! I was born in Råshult in Småland on the 23rd of May 1707. In the later years of my life I suffered from several strokes, which resulted in paralysis and cognitive decline, ultimately leading to my death at the age of 70 on January 10, 1778, in Uppsala, Sweden.
But enough of the sappy death talk! You see, I was, and still am, well known as the “father of modern taxonomy”! How come? Well, during my time I was a Swedish biologist and psychian, primarily based in Uppsala. However my influence on Swedish science, education and botany has done wonders! I formalised and developed the modern system of naming organisms in the 18th century, that became known as “binomial nomenclature”, which made it possible to name plants and animals. This foundation is still greatly used today to classify and categorize organisms, and to this very day I am still one of Sweden’s most celebrated scientists.

“If a tree dies, plant another in its place.” Is a rather famous quote of mine that you may recognize, do you?
Gothenburg has a strong botanical tradition, particularly through Gothenburg Botanical Garden and Trädgårdsföreningen, the garden society of Gothenburg. These places focus on the same kind of plant work that I started-naming plants, studying them, and teaching people about them, which is exactly why my statue has been placed here for decades in the Botanical Garden of Gothenburg. My infl uence on science and nature lives on in places like this. So as you walk through the gardens, perhaps take a moment to think of the system behind the names-and remember me, Carl Von Linné.