Balthazar Walter Foster, 1st Baron Ilkeston PC FRCP (17 July 1840 – 31 January 1913) was a British physician and politician.

Early life and education

Queen's College, Paradise Street, Birmingham

He was born to Balthazar Foster and his wife Marian ( Green), in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

on 17 July 1840. In 1847 the family moved to Ireland, and Foster was educated at

Drogheda Grammar School Drogheda Grammar School is an Irish co-educational multi-denominational school, located on Mornington Road, Drogheda, County Louth. History Drogheda Grammar School was founded under Royal Charter in 1669 by Erasmus Smith and is one of the ol ...

. In 1857 Foster attended Trinity College, Dublin, where he studied medicine. After graduation he became Prolector of Anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, but abandoned hopes of a medical career, even going as far as to apply for a naval commission. In 1860, however, he was appointed Demonstrator in Practical Anatomy at

Queen's College, Birmingham Queen's College was a medical school in central Birmingham, England, and a predecessor college of the University of Birmingham. It was founded by surgeon William Sands Cox in 1825 as The Birmingham Medical School, a residential college for medi ...

(a predecessor college of

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

), later being appointed Professor of Anatomy. In 1864 he obtained his MD from the

University of Erlangen-Nuremberg A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

. That same year, he married Emily Martha Sargant.

Medical career

On the merger of Queen's and Sydenham colleges in 1868 he was appointed Professor of Medicine, a position he held until 1892. He became a doctor at

Birmingham General Hospital Birmingham General Hospital was a teaching hospital in Birmingham, England, founded in 1779 and closed in the mid-1990s. History Summer Lane In 1765, a committee for a proposed hospital, formed by John Ash and supported by Sir Lister ...

, where he was galvanized by what he described as a "new atmosphere of modern thought and scientific enterprise" compared to the traditionalism of medicine in Dublin. He was established as a researcher by a series of articles starting in 1863 covering treatment for

peptic ulcer Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a break in the inner lining of the stomach, the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while one in the first part of the intestines ...

valvular heart disease Valvular heart disease is any cardiovascular disease process involving one or more of the four valves of the heart (the aortic and mitral valves on the left side of heart and the pulmonic and tricuspid valves on the right side of heart). These ...

and cyanosis. He was the first author in England to publish a text covering premature death among

diabetics Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased a ...

from

ketoacidosis Ketoacidosis is a metabolic state caused by uncontrolled production of ketone bodies that cause a metabolic acidosis. While ketosis refers to any elevation of blood ketones, ketoacidosis is a specific pathologic condition that results in changes ...

. His most famous research was his efforts to use

diethyl ether Diethyl ether, or simply ether, is an organic compound in the ether class with the formula , sometimes abbreviated as (see Pseudoelement symbols). It is a colourless, highly volatile, sweet-smelling ("ethereal odour"), extremely flammable li ...

in the treatment of

phthisis Phthisis may refer to: Mythology * Phthisis (mythology), Classical/Greco-Roman personification of rot, decay and putrefaction Medical terms * Phthisis bulbi, shrunken, nonfunctional eye * Phthisis miliaris, miliary tuberculosis * Phthisis pulmo ...

. In 1870, he published ''Method and Medicine'', a defence of scientific research in medicine. This was his last major piece of medical work; in the 1870s he became involved the public health and the social applications of medicine. In 1873, he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

(FRCP).

Parliamentary career

In 1885, he was elected as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Chester as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate with a programme of free education and improved housing for the poor. Although a strong supporter of

Joseph Chamberlain Joseph Chamberlain (8 July 1836 – 2 July 1914) was a British statesman who was first a radical Liberal, then a Liberal Unionist after opposing home rule for Ireland, and eventually served as a leading imperialist in coalition with the C ...

, Foster did not reject Irish Home Rule in 1886 as Chamberlain did. In 1886, he was made President of the

National Liberal Federation The National Liberal Federation (1877–1936) was the union of all English and Welsh (but not Scottish) Liberal Associations. It held an annual conference which was regarded as being representative of the opinion of the party's rank and file and ...

, where he played a large part in keeping Chamberlain's supporters loyal to

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

. Foster was unseated by the

faggot votes A faggot voter or faggot was a person who qualified to vote in an election with a restricted suffrage only by the exploitation of loopholes in the regulations. Typically, faggot voters satisfied a property qualification by holding the title to a su ...

of the

duke of Westminster Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...

's tenants at the Liberal defeat in the 1886 election, and a knighthood the same year suggested a retirement from politics, but Foster returned to Westminster in 1887, elected for

Ilkeston Ilkeston is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Derbyshire, England, on the River Erewash, from which the borough takes its name, with a population at the 2011 census of 38,640. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/texti ...

after a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

. In 1892, he was made

Parliamentary Secretary to the Local Government Board A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

, becoming the first doctor to hold a ministerial post in Britain. He organised the sanitation campaign between 1892 and 1895, which successfully prevented the 1893 Cholera epidemic reaching Britain. When the Liberals returned to power in 1905 some had predicted a cabinet position for him, but he was passed over on grounds of his age. In 1906 he was made a member of the Privy Council. After his sixth victory at Ilkeston in 1910 he was asked to vacate his seat to allow J. E. B. Seely, recently defeated in his own constituency, to take his place. Foster took the position of

Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead The office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead functions as a procedural device to allow a member of Parliament (MP) to resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. As members of the House of Commons are forbidden ...

, effectively resigning from the House of Commons, and Seely was duly elected in March 1910. In 1910, he was elevated to the peerage, as ''Baron Ilkeston'', of Ilkeston in the County of Derby, although he did little in the House of Lords due to his growing ill-health. A bowel obstruction was successfully operated on in 1911, but he died of

bowel cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...

in London on 31 January 1913, aged 72.

Works

Among his publications, were: * ''The Use of the Sphygmograph in Heart Diseases'' (1866) * ''Method and Medicine'' (1870) * ''Clinical Medicine'' (1874) * ''Political Powerlessness of the Medical Profession'' (1883) * ''Public Aspects of Medicine'' (1890)

References

Sources

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Balthazar 1840 births 1913 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians University of Erlangen-Nuremberg alumni Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies

UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 UK MPs 1906–1910 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs who were granted peerages Knights Bachelor People educated at Drogheda Grammar School Academics of the University of Birmingham Barons created by George V