The Linnean Tercentenary Medal was commissioned in 2007 by the Linnean Society to commemorate the tercentenary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus. Recipients were in two categories: Silver Medal and Bronze Medal, for outstanding contributions to natural history. [1]
The front of the medal features an illustration by Linnaeus of Andromeda (mythology) next to one of the plant he named Andromeda, from his 1732 expedition to Lapland and on the back, a spiral design made from illustrations taken from Systema Naturae. [2]
Carl Linnaeus, also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné, was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming organisms. He is known as the "father of modern taxonomy". Many of his writings were in Latin; his name is rendered in Latin as Carolus Linnæus and, after his 1761 ennoblement, as Carolus a Linné.
The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collections, and publishes academic journals and books on plant and animal biology. The society also awards a number of prestigious medals and prizes.
The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Zoo.
John Latham was an English physician, naturalist and author. His main works were A General Synopsis of Birds (1781–1801) and A General History of Birds (1821–1828). He was able to examine specimens of Australian birds that reached England in the final twenty years of the 18th century, and was responsible for providing English names for many of them. He named some of Australia's most famous birds, including the emu, sulphur-crested cockatoo, wedge-tailed eagle, superb lyrebird, Australian magpie, magpie-lark and pheasant coucal. Latham has been called the "grandfather" of Australian ornithology. He was also the first to describe the hyacinth macaw from South America.
Erik Acharius was a Swedish botanist who pioneered the taxonomy of lichens and is known as the "father of lichenology". Acharius was famously the last pupil of Carl Linnaeus.
Andromeda polifolia, common name bog-rosemary, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, native to northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only member of the genus Andromeda, and is only found in bogs in cold peat-accumulating areas. Andromeda glaucophylla is a synonym of A. polifolia var. latifolia.
Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Carolus Linnaeus the Younger, Carl von Linné den yngre, or Linnaeus filius was a Swedish naturalist. His names distinguish him from his father, the pioneering taxonomist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778).
Linnean or Linnaean may refer to:
William Thomas Stearn was a British botanist. Born in Cambridge in 1911, he was largely self-educated and developed an early interest in books and natural history. His initial work experience was at a Cambridge bookshop, but he also had an occupation as an assistant in the university botany department. At the age of 29, he married Eldwyth Ruth Alford, who later became his collaborator.
Carl Frederick Abel Pantin FRS was a British zoologist. He was educated at Tonbridge School and Christ's College, Cambridge.
George Dickie was a Scottish botanist, who specialised in algae.
Hugh Hamshaw "Ham" Thomas, MBE, FRS, FLS,, was a British paleobotanist.
William Carmichael M'Intosh LLD was a Scottish physician and marine zoologist. He served as president of the Ray Society, as vice-president of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (1927–30), and was awarded the Neill Prize (1865-8).
Professor Dianne Edwards CBE, FRS, FRSE, FLS, FLSW is a palaeobotanist, who studies the colonisation of land by plants, and early land plant interactions.
Sidnie Milana MantonFLS FRS was an influential British zoologist. She is known for making advances in the field of functional morphology. She is regarded as being one of the most outstanding zoologists of the twentieth century.
Errol Ivor White CBE FRS FLS FGS was a British geologist who was president of the Ray Society from 1956 to 1959 and president of the Linnean Society of London from 1964 to 1967.
Commemoration of Carl Linnaeus has been ongoing for over two centuries. Celebrated for his scientific work, Linnaeus was knighted and granted nobility in life. After his death, he has been featured in sculpture, on postage stamps and banknotes, as well as by a medal from the eponymous Linnean Society of London. Several notable people have the given names Linnaeus/Linné or Linnea/Linnéa. Among other things named in his honor are plants, astronomical features, towns, an arboretum, a mineral and a university.
The expedition to Lapland, the northernmost region in Sweden, by Carl Linnaeus between May and October 1732 was an important part of his scientific career.
Sandra Diane Knapp is an American-born botanist. She is a merit researcher of the Plants Division of the Natural History Museum, London and from 2018 was the president of the Linnean Society of London. While working at the Natural History Museum, London she has overseen the Flora Mesoamericana inventory of Central American plants. She has published several books on botanical subjects as well as a significant number of scientific articles. In 2016 she was awarded the Linnean Medal. In 2022 she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 2023 she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and was awarded the Engler Medal in Gold by the International Association for Plant Taxonomy.
William David Richardson FRS FLS has been Director of the UCL Wolfson Institute since 2012.