Ten fun facts about William John Swainson

Fact 1
There are 9 different birds named after Swainson, including Swainson's Sparrow and Swainson's Toucan.

Fact 2
Swainsona, a type of flower, is not named after him, though it is commonly mistaken that it is. It is named after his cousin.

Fact 3
When he was younger, he was somewhat deprived of a full education because he had a speech impediment.

Fact 4
After spending time in Brazil, he returned to the United Kingdom in 1818 with thousands of insects, plants, drawings of fish and bird skins.

Fact 5
Swainson was the first to use lithography, in his published piece "Zoological Illustrations".

Fact 6
Although Swainson is responsible for many of the scientific and common names of species, he is known mostly for his illustrations.

Fact 7
He was a member of the Royal Society and also an honorary member of the Royal Society of Tasmania.

Fact 8
He was invited to study trees in Sydney and claimed over 1,500 species, but his report was mostly rejected by other botanists.

Fact 9
A New Zealand poet wrote a poem in his memory two years after his death.

Fact 10
His father was a member of the Linnean Society and he Swainson followed after his steps in 1815.

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