Who discovered the mouse? - briefly
The common house mouse (Mus musculus) was first formally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 Systema Naturae. Linnaeus’s classification established the species as a distinct taxonomic entity.
Who discovered the mouse? - in detail
The European house mouse (Mus musculus) entered scientific literature when Carl Linnaeus assigned it its binomial name in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae (1758). Linnaeus’ classification established the species as a distinct taxon, providing the foundation for later biological work.
The mouse’s role as a genetic model began in the early 20th century. William Ernest Castle conducted the first Mendelian experiments with Mus musculus in 1902, demonstrating inheritance of coat‑color traits and confirming that the species followed the same genetic laws as the fruit fly. Castle’s publications introduced the mouse to genetics laboratories worldwide.
In the 1920s, C. C. Little at the Bussey Institute expanded the organism’s utility by creating the first inbred mouse strains. By systematically brother‑sister mating for many generations, Little produced genetically uniform lines such as the “Little” and “C57BL” families, which became essential for reproducible research.
Subsequent refinements included:
- 1935: The development of the DBA/2 inbred strain by Little’s collaborators.
- 1948: The establishment of the Jackson Laboratory’s repository, which preserved and distributed standardized mouse stocks.
- 1950s‑1960s: The introduction of transgenic and knockout techniques, building on the genetic uniformity of Little’s strains.
Together, Linnaeus’ taxonomic description, Castle’s genetic validation, and Little’s inbreeding program constitute the historical sequence that transformed the mouse from a common rodent into the premier laboratory animal used in biomedical research today.