Who is John Latham?

John Latham (27 June 1740 – 4 February 1837) was an English physician, naturalist and author. His main works were A General Synopsis of Birds (1781–1801) and General History of Birds (1821–1828). He was nimble to inspect specimens of Australian birds which reached England in the last twenty years of the 18th century, and was answerable for providing English names for many of them. He named Australia’s well-known birds, these included the emu, sulphur-crested cockatoo, wedge-tailed eagle, superb lyrebird and Australian magpie. He was also the first to describe the hyacinth macaw. Latham has been called the “grandfather” of Australian ornithology.

See also  Who is Oscar Pletsch?

What do you think of the works of John Latham?

Use the form below to say your opinion about John Latham. All opinions are welcome!

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.