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The birthday of one of the giants of biological science will be celebrated this week at The University of Western Australia and around the world.

Carl von Linne, or Linnaeus as he is better known, was born 300 years ago in Sweden. He invented the system of classification and naming of life forms from which sprang the discipline of systematics, a core activity in these days of threatened biodiversity.

Australia has a special link with Linnaeus, whose famous student, Daniel Solander, was the naturalist on Captain James Cook’s first voyage to Australia and who brought back the first plant collections from Australia to Europe.

Two free public lectures will mark the start of the celebrations. Professor Sverker Sorlin, one of Sweden’s most distinguished scientists and Professor of Environmental History at The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, will discuss ‘Linne, Solander, the Apostles and their Time’ on Thursday, September 20, 2007.

‘Where are we after 300 years? – Systematics, ancient to modern’ will be the title of Dr Kevin Thiele’s lecture, Curator of the Western Australian Herbarium, on Friday, September 21, 2007.

Both lectures will be held in the Theatre Auditorium of UWA’s University Club, starting at 6pm.

An art exhibition, ‘The System of Nature’, at UWA’s Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, from September 21 – November 7 and related events at Kings Park and the WA Museum, will also mark the anniversary.

Along with the WA Herbarium and The University of Western Australia, the celebrations are supported by the Embassy of Sweden, Kings Park Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority and the Western Australian Museum.

For more information about the public lectures, contact the Institute of Advanced Studies on 6488 1340 or email [email protected]

Media references

Audrey Barton (Institute of Advanced Studies) 61 8 6488 1340

Simone Hewett / Sally-Ann Jones 61 8 6488 7977
(UWA Public Affairs) 0420 790 097 / 0420 790 098