The Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) established the binomial system of biological nomenclature, formalized biological classification, and gave the first organization to ecology.

Carl Linnaeus was born on May 23, 1707, in Råshult, the eldest of five children. Two years after his birth his father became the Lutheran minister at Stenbrohult. There young Carl had his own garden, which, he later remarked, "inflamed my soul with an unquenchable love of plants."

In 1716 Linnaeus went to the grammar school in nearby Växjö. He studied Latin, religion, mathematics, and science, but his interest in plants tended to interfere with his studies. A favorite book was Aristotle's Historia animalium, which his father had given him. His mother hoped he would enter the ministry, but he showed no interest in that career. Johan Rothman, a master at the high school, encouraged Linnaeus's interests in science and suggested that he...