Linnaeus and the natural order of things

An exhibition to celebrate the life and legacy of the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus opened today at the University of Sydney's Macleay Museum.

Rational Order: Carl von Linne (1707-1778) explores Linneaus's influential two-worded Latin-based naming system, published in Systema Naturae, which classified the world's flora, fauna and minerals and brought order to the natural world of the 18th century.

The exhibition also marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Linnaeus (who later took the name 'von Linne' after he was knighted in 1761.)

The exhibition's curator, Dr Jude Philp, said Linneaus's work was both revolutionary and controversial.

"Linnaeus introduced the internationally recognisable system for classifying all animals and plants that is used to this day," Philp, senior curator of the Macleay Museum, said.

"In developing his system he had to come up with an incredible number of individual names. He also recognised the similarities between man and ape, and the sexual differences in plant life. Both caused an outcry at the time."

Linnaeus, known as the 'father of taxonomy' was responsible for naming humans homo sapien" and for also naming mammals, which were, quite contentiously, labelled by the way they fed their young through breastfeeding.

"Linneaus was an extraordinary man," Philp said. "He was a doctor who wrote on everything from the evils of coffee and tobacco, to syphilis and healthy eating. He was an astute political person with royal contacts and connections with the Dutch East India Company. He was a teacher, gardener, traveller and a magnificent self-promoter."

The Macleay Museum has close links with Linnaeus: the Macleay family, whose collections form the foundation of the museum's materials, promoted the use of the Linnaeus system in the English and French speaking worlds of the 19th century.

Alexander Macleay (1767-1848) was secretary to the Linnean Society of London from 1798 to 1825 and fostered the Linnean system's use in Australia when he became Colonial Secretary to NSW in 1826. His nephew, William John Macleay, also established the Linnean Society of NSW.

Rational Order focuses on Linnaeus's zoological classifications and will include 500 Linnaeus-named specimens along with significant works of art, 18th century books, illustrations and collecting ephemera including the personal collecting bottle belonging to Captain James Cook's naturalist Daniel Solander, one of Linnaeus's most talented students.

Some specimens in the exhibition, such as the Greater Prairie Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido) are near-extinct and illustrate the biodiversity of Linnaeus's lifetime.

Rational Order runs until October 20. Admission to the museum is free.

Katrina O'Brien is a media officer with the University of Sydney.