Johann Reinhold Forster (22 October 1729 – 9 December 1798) was a
Reformed (Calvinist) pastor and
naturalist of partially
Scottish descent who made contributions to the early
ornithology of
Europe and
North America. He is best known as the naturalist on
James Cook's second
Pacific voyage, where he was accompanied by his son
Georg Forster. These expeditions promoted the career of Johann Reinhold Forster and the findings became the bedrock of colonial professionalism and helped set the stage for the future development of anthropology and ethnology. They also laid the framework for general concern about the impact that alteration of the physical environment for European economic expansion would have on exotic societies.