John Latham was an ornithologist and was one of the founding members of the Linnean Society. Famous for his two ten-volume histories of birds A General Synopsis of Birds (1781-5) and A General History of Birds (1821-8), Latham had his own collection of bird specimens from which he drew and etched the plates for the works. Latham’s works are notable for their naming of several species new to science, particularly specimens brought back from Australia and the Pacific Islands as well as American birds.