Linnaeus’ birth tercentenary leads to honorary degree conferral in Sweden

IU’s Ostrom, IU alumnus Watson among 20th-century innovators honored by Uppsala University

By Jayne Spencer, Published July 27, 2007

IU Professor Elinor Ostrom is pictured on the campus of Uppsala University in Sweden, where she was honored this spring for her work. The title of her scholarly presentation during the proceedings was fitting to honor the memory of botanist Carolus Linnaeus, who introduced to the world a system to organize and classify the animal and plant kingdoms. Her title?
IU Professor Elinor Ostrom is pictured on the campus of Uppsala University in Sweden, where she was honored this spring for her work. The title of her scholarly presentation during the proceedings was fitting to honor the memory of botanist Carolus Linnaeus, who introduced to the world a system to organize and classify the animal and plant kingdoms. Her title? "Why Institutional Diversity Is Important but Often Mistaken for Chaos." During the honorary doctoral degree presentation, Ostrom’s theories, particularly those related and applied to the environment, were cited. Her Multi-tier Framework for Analyzing Sustainable Social-Ecological Systems relies on a conviction that “most people can be trusted if the institutions enhance trust.”

“God created, but Linnaeus organized,” is among the many pithy quotes and maxims attributed to the man who chose Latin as the appropriate language in which to classify plants and animals, allowing scientists and researchers a simplified way of communicating and sharing the work they were doing.

The famous 18th- century Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus was born on May 23, 1707, and when his country of origin set about celebrating the tercentenary of his birth, the botanist’s alma mater, Uppsala (Sweden) University, set about honoring the memory of “the father of taxonomy” by conferring honorary doctoral degrees upon several prominent international figures, including two with ties to Indiana University.

Linnaeus in His Lapland Dress, mezzotint engraved by H. Kingsbury after Martin Hoffman from Robert Thornton’s New Illustration of the Sexual System of Carolus von Linnaeus (London, 1807).

The legendary Linnaeus is best known for his “Systema naturae,” published in 1735--an organized system that employed two Latin words in the naming of each plant and animal on Earth. For example, Homo sapiens became the designated species for human beings, and the titmouse (in English), the musvit (in Danish), and the mesange charbonniere (in French) became recognizable worldwide as Parus major. Linnaeus was also an engaging professor at his alma mater, and the group of former students known now as “the apostles” continued his work on expeditions throughout the world.

“Systema naturae”
“Systema naturae”

His notoriety as a botanist, zoologist, physician and teacher are still recognized internationally, and the tercentenary spurred celebrations not only in Sweden, but in the Netherlands, where Linnaeus earned his medical degree, Britain, Russia, Italy, China and Japan. In fact, on May 23, ceremonies at University Hall were attended by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan as well as the king and queen of Sweden.

Ostrom
Ostrom

On May 26 the prominent figures honored by Uppsala, the oldest university in the Nordic countries, included Kofi Annan, former secretary-general of the UN; and Elinor Ostrom, Bentley Professor of political science and co-director of the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at IU, both of whom were nominated for their degrees by the Faculty of Social Sciences. Ostrom was recognized as "one of the world's foremost social scientists...who has contributed first-class theories spanning political science and political economy." In 2001 she was elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences and in 1999 was the first woman to receive the Johan Skytte Prize from Uppsala University; the prize is one of the most prestigious and largest monetary awards given in the social sciences. While in Sweden for the honorary degree conferral in memory of Linnaeus, Ostrom presented a lecture that would have pleased a taxonomist of any century: “Why Institutional Diversity Is Important but Often Mistaken for Chaos.”

Linguist Noam Chomsky was selected for honorary degree conferral by the Faculty of Languages; primatologist Jane Goodall and documentarian Sir David Attenborough were both nominated by the Faculty of Science and Technology; and IU alumnus James Watson, one of the discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule (see archival HP web site:http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/HomePages/040299/text/vip.htm), was nominated by the Faculty of Medicine.