Bruckner, D.J.R.

A monument to the Swedish biologist Carl von Linné (1707-1778), a replica of a work by Johan Dyfverman, was given to the City of Chicago by the area's Swedish-American community in 1891. The monument stood for most of the twentieth century at the corner of Fullerton Avenue and Cannon Drive in Lincoln Park. Beginning in the fifties, Swedish-American organizations in the Chicago area began seeking out a potential new location for the monument. In 1975, George Beadle, President Emeritus of the University of Chicago, suggested that a suitable location could be found on campus. Arrangements were quickly negotiated between the university, the city, and the Central Swedish Committee of the Chicago Area. However, some in the Lincoln Park community complained that they had not been consulted or given adequate notification about the removal.

The monument was removed from Lincoln Park, cleaned and repaired, and installed on the Midway Plaisance in 1976. The relocation of the monument was timed partly to coincide with the October 1976 visit of Carl XVI Gustav, King of Sweden, to Chicago. The university's Vice-President for Public Affairs, D.J.R. Bruckner organized an event to honor the King's visit with a luncheon and rededication of the monument.