Editing Carl Linnaeus (section)

==Final years==
[[File:Carl von Linné grave 2007 Upsala.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|[[Headstone]] of him and his son [[Carl Linnaeus the Younger]]]]

Linnaeus was relieved of his duties in the Royal Swedish Academy of Science in 1763, but continued his work there as usual for more than ten years after.<ref name=nrm.se/> In 1769 he was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]] for his work.<ref>Bell, Whitfield J., and Charles Greifenstein, Jr. Patriot-Improvers: Biographical Sketches of Members of the American Philosophical Society. 3 vols. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1997, 3:145–147.</ref> He stepped down as rector at Uppsala University in December 1772, mostly due to his declining health.<ref name="Koerner56"/><ref name="Blunt245">[[#Blunt|Blunt (2004)]], p. 245.</ref>

Linnaeus's last years were troubled by illness. He had had a disease called the Uppsala fever in 1764, but survived due to the care of Rosén. He developed [[sciatica]] in 1773, and the next year, he had a stroke which partially paralysed him.<ref>[[#Blunt|Blunt (2004)]], p. 232.</ref> He had a second stroke in 1776, losing the use of his right side and leaving him bereft of his memory; while still able to admire his own writings, he could not recognise himself as their author.<ref>[[#Stöver|Stöver (1794)]], pp. 243–245.</ref><ref>[[#Broberg|Broberg (2006)]], p. 42.</ref>

In December 1777, he had another stroke which greatly weakened him, and eventually led to his death on 10 January 1778 in Hammarby.<ref>[[#Gribbin|Gribbin & Gribbin (2008)]], p. 63.</ref><ref name="Blunt245"/> Despite his desire to be buried in Hammarby, he was buried in [[Uppsala Cathedral]] on 22 January.<ref>[[#Quammen|Quammen (2007)]], p. 4.</ref><ref name="Anderson104-106">[[#Anderson|Anderson (1997)]], pp. 104–106.</ref>

His library and collections were left to his widow Sara and their children. [[Joseph Banks]], an eminent botanist, wished to purchase the collection, but his son Carl refused the offer and instead moved the collection to Uppsala. In 1783 Carl died and Sara inherited the collection, having outlived both her husband and son. She tried to sell it to Banks, but he was no longer interested; instead an acquaintance of his agreed to buy the collection. The acquaintance was a 24-year-old medical student, [[James Edward Smith (botanist)|James Edward Smith]], who bought the whole collection: 14,000 plants, 3,198 insects, 1,564 shells, about 3,000 letters and 1,600 books. Smith founded the [[Linnean Society of London]] five years later.<ref name="Anderson104-106"/><ref>[[#Blunt2001|Blunt (2001)]], pp. 238–240.</ref>

The von Linné name ended with his son Carl, who never married.<ref name="deceased"/> His other son, Johannes, had died aged 3.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://linnaeus.c18.net/Letters/display_bio_note.php?id_letter=L1753&code_person=LinnaeusJ |title=Linnaeus, Johannes (1754–1757). Swedish. Son of Carl Linnaeus and Sara Elisabet Linnaea |work=The Linnaeus Correspondence |publisher=Centre international d'étude du XVIIIe siècle |access-date=4 October 2011 |archive-date=27 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927135529/http://linnaeus.c18.net/Letters/display_bio_note.php?id_letter=L1753&code_person=LinnaeusJ |url-status=live }}</ref> There are over two hundred descendants of Linnaeus through two of his daughters.<ref name="deceased"/>