The Man Who Organized Nature The Life of Linnaeus

Though Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) is best remembered for the system of binomial nomenclature that we still use today to name species, that is only obvious with the benefit of hindsight. Linnaeus did not start his career with this goal in mind and the task for historian Gunnar Broberg is to show us how and why he got there. As this scholarly biography reveals, behind the reputation of Linnaeus as the father of biological taxonomy hides a remarkable polymath.

In the history of science, Linnaeus is an interesting case. He wrote multiple autobiographies and there have been numerous biographies since his death. Point is, most of these are decades to centuries old, not readily available, and often written in Swedish. Even Broberg's book was originally published in Swedish in 2019. Anna Paterson, a seasoned translator with an academic medical background, is almost invisible; there is no note or preface from her hand, nor any mention of her in the acknowledgements. Broberg sadly passed away in 2022 it is unclear if she translated it posthumously or had the opportunity to still work with him.

Classifying and organizing things was second nature to Linnaeus and various scholars have discussed his psychology. He was a genius but also a workaholic, with some suggesting he suffered from bipolar disorder and Broberg wondering if he had ADHD. Despite his many other interests, during his early life there was a mentor or patron ready to encourage his passion for plants at every other turn. Several key taxonomical works Linnaeus wrote would go through numerous editions and their continuous revision occupied much of his later life. Systema Naturae would swell to a 2,300-page behemoth in its 12th edition (1766–1768), offering a complete taxonomic classification of all plants and animals then known.

Remarkably, Linnaeus's binomial nomenclature seems to have been an accidental invention: Its first use seems to have been in the 1749 dissertation Pan Svecicus, possibly to save space rather than replace the traditional, unwieldy polynomial Latin descriptions. Linnaeus soon realised and championed its potential, though it was not immediately embraced by everyone. In particular, there was a long-running disagreement between him and French philosopher Buffon that "did not deal in petty details—grand issues were at stake" (p. 283). Interestingly, as time progressed and their views developed, "their areas of disagreement kept shifting" (p. 284). It is a story that is explored in more detail in my next review of Every Living Thing.

Given that Linnaeus would be remembered for plant taxonomy and binomial nomenclature, it is remarkable how few pages are spent here describing them. At the time, it was not obvious. For example, as he was lecturing in botany in 1739, he was also preparing to start studying medicine in 1740, except that dissecting bodies did not agree with him. Furthermore, his numerous journeys exploring different counties in Sweden had a markedly utilitarian character. Linnaeus and his sponsors were primarily interested in drawing up an inventory of useful plants to improve the Swedish economy. Broberg makes a point of repeatedly placing Linnaeus in the political and economic context of his time: he grew up in the aftermath of the Great Northern War against Russia and witnessed poverty, famine, and disease. His aim was to help people better provide for themselves. He was particularly interested in cultivating foreign crops likely to thrive in Sweden's climate.

Linnaeus was a polymath, and Broberg accommodates this by part-way through abandoning his chronological approach in favour of a larger number of shorter chapters, sometimes just four pages long. This collection of vignettes touches on a wide range of topics. Another highlight of this biography is the attention Broberg pays to the old Linnaeus. In his eyes, most writing has focused on the achievements of the young man. Importantly, even though his mind would ultimately fail him, his intellect never stalled and he remained interested in new developments.

Linnaeus could sometimes not help himself, coining species names to insult rivals. Broberg notes that his biographer Fries countered some of these allegations, "keen to save the reputations of his heroes" (p. 235). However, given that Broberg was a Linnaeus scholar who published on him since the 1970s, one might reasonably ask if he too was too close to his subject. He refrains from passing judgement on the fact that a third of the disciples did not survive the collecting expeditions he sent them on. Furthermore, Linnaeus has been charged with laying the groundwork for racist pseudoscience by creating categories for different human populations that would later be labelled races. Broberg is mild: "Labels such as "racism" and "racist" are frequently misleading when applied to circumstances and people in the past; such judgments should surely be adapted to the time and the available knowledge" (p. 299). He would rather highlight all the ways in which Linnaeus was an adherent of racist and eugenic thinking. Is that good enough? I will have to put a pin in this topic for now and return to it in my next review.

Who is the target audience of this book? Looking at the list of sources—documents in libraries and collections, Linnaeus's writings, and a lot of secondary Swedish literature—it is clear that this is a serious and scholarly biography. Broberg includes many Latin phrases without always translating them and there are numerous references to classical and 18th-century literature and thinkers only familiar to educated readers. You would almost forget that the book was not initially written in English except for the references to Swedish places, events, and people that will not be familiar to an international readership. Broberg does not often explain them and the translator only once or twice adds context. Additional maps would have been useful to get a better idea of the geography and distances involved. Basically, the book throws you in at the deep end from the get-go and I can see that it might intimidate lay readers. The Man Who Organized Nature offers a full immersion in Linnaeus's life and for readers desiring a thorough take on its subject that does not skimp on the detail, this is an unparalleled book that delivers in spades. For science historians, there is the additional bonus of the translation unlocking a large body of Swedish literature. I commend Princeton University Press for making it available to an Anglophone audience: readily available coverage of Linnaeus was long overdue.