Science & technology

Linnaeus publishes Systema Naturae

1735

The first edition of the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae, published in Leiden in 1735, was only a dozen large pages, but through ten editions it grew into a catalogue of all known animals, plants and minerals. In the tenth edition of 1758 he consistently used two-part Latin names, such as Homo sapiens, which became the foundation of modern zoological naming. His hierarchical system of classes, orders, genera and species gave naturalists a common language. Linnaeus also placed humans among the primates, which was daring for the time.

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This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 18th century.