Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Born This Day: Gaspard Bauhin

Jan. 17, 1560 - Dec. 5, 1624.

From Today In Science History:

Bauhin was a Swiss physician, anatomist, and botanist who introduced a scientific binomial system of classification to both anatomy and botany. In 1623 Bauhin produced the Pinax Theatri Botanici, the first attempt to summarize a confusing array of names. It was a monumental compilation that pulled together uncoordinated plant names and descriptions of 6000 species that had appeared in Theophrastus and Dioscorides, as well as in later herbals and other plant records. By accepting Bauhin's compilation, Linnaeus was able to avoid many of the complications of the ancient literature.