Commemoration of Carl Linnaeus end of his life in 1778, Carl Linnaeus had become one of the most acclaimed scientists in Europe, the first civilian in Sweden to be dubbed a knight of the Order of the Polar Star (1753) and ennobled as Carl von Linné (1761). The Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau wrote during Linnaeus' lifetime: "I know no greater man on earth." The German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe would later write: "With the exception of Shakespeare and Spinoza, I know no one among the no longer living who has influenced me more strongly." Swedish author August Strindberg wrote: "Linnaeus was in reality
Commemoration of Carl Linnaeus a poet who happened to become a naturalist". Among other compliments, Linnaeus has been called the "Flower King", "Princeps botanicorum" (Prince of Botanists), "The Pliny of the North," and "The Second Adam". In 1959, Carl Linnaeus was designated as the lectotype for "Homo sapiens", which means that following the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "Homo sapiens" is validly defined as the animal species to which Linnaeus belongs. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh holds a monument to Linnaeus designed in 1778 by the noted Scottish architect Robert Adam. It was originally erected in the Botanic Garden on Leith Walk in 1779