Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778), the great Swedish botanist and zoologist, was commonly called the Father of Taxonomy. He laid the foundation for binomial nomenclature, the formal system of naming, ranking and classifying organisms that is still in wide use today.
The Linnaeus Garden was the first botanical garden in Sweden, originally laid out in 1655 of Olof Rudbeck the elder, professor of medicine at Uppsala University. It is today arranged according to Linnaeus' own plan from 1745. Approximately 1300 species of plants are grown here today, all of which are known to have been cultivated by Linnaeus: the garden is a living complement to his writings and drawings. It is also be possible to visit the Linnaeus museum, situated within the gardens, which was Carl Linnaeus's home for 35 years.