Classification system

Aristotle

322 BCE

Was the first to introduced the classification of oranisms by type and binomial definition and was the first to attempt to classify all the kinds of animals by similarities.

Andrea Cesalpino

1583

Began classifying plants on the basis of the structure of their fruits and seeds

Light microscope

1590

Led to the discovery of cells and the realisation that organisms should be categorised according to similar cells

Gaspard Bauhin

1620

Described six thousand species and gave them names based on their "natural affinities," grouping them into genus and species.

John Ray

1670

Became the first person to divide flowering plants into monocots and dicots.

Augustus Rivinus

1700

Introduced the taxon of 'order'

Joseph Pitton de Tournefort

1700

Introduced the taxons of 'class' and 'species'

Carl Linnaeus

1735

Created the overall framework of classification that organized all plants and animals from the level of kingdoms all the way down to specids.

Phase contrast microscope

1838

This enabled the study and observation of living organisms without destroying them and allowing their characteristics, movements and structure to be observed.

Ernst Haeckel

1899

Created 3 Kingdom Classification system consisting of Animalia, Plantae and Protista.

Carbon-14 Dating

1947

This uses the rate of decay of Carbon to estimate the age of young fossils.

DNA

1950

The DNA is used to identify differences and similarities between organisms and therefore classify the species on similarities of cells rather then basic structure.

Electron microscope

1967

Discovered a separate multi-cellular Eukaryotic kingdom.

Robert Whittaker

1969

Created 5 kingdoms classification system: Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Prostista and Monera.

Carl Woese

1990

Created 3 domain classification system: Bacteria, Archaea and Eukaryota.