Richard Fourness Johnston (July 27, 1925 – November 15, 2014)[1] was an American ornithologist, academic and author.

He was born in Oakland, California to Marie Whitney (née Johnson) and Arthur Nathaniel Johnston, a San Francisco Bay Area optician.

He served in the Army during World War II, and was injured in the European theater.

In 1958, he joined the Zoology Department at the University of Kansas, Lawrence and became curator of its Natural History Museum.

[4] His outside interests included searching for mushrooms, tending to his small vineyard, and making wine.