Swedish Botanist Carl Linneaus and his Lapland Costume

May 23, 1707

On this day, the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus was born.

When Carl was 25 years old, he set out to explore the Lapland.

Carl spent nearly six months in Lapland and returned with tales of a place in Scandinavia few people knew existed.

The Lapland expedition had been trying: Carl suffered from hunger, mosquitoes, and freezing temperatures. He almost died from a rockslide and a gunshot.

Through it all, Carl fell in love with the Lapland, and his main souvenir was a traditional Lapland costume complete with a magical drum.

Five years later, an obscure German painter named Martin Hoffman painted Carl's portrait.

And, guess what Carl chose to wear for the sitting? His Lapland costume, of course.

In Hoffman's Linnaeus, a 30-year-old Carl is seen wearing boots made of reindeer skin.

He's also wearing an early version of a tool belt. The magical drum, a needle to make nets, a snuffbox, a cartridge box, and a knife are suspended from it.

Carl also has traditional Laplander gloves, and in his right hand, he holds his favorite plant and namesake: the Twinflower, Linnaea borealis.