George Carey Foster (October 1835 – 9 February 1919) was a chemist and physicist, known for application and modification of the Wheatstone bridge for precise electrical measurement. The Carey Foster bridge is named after him.

Biography

Born in Sabden,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, George Carey Foster received early education at private schools and then graduated in chemistry from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. He was Professor of Physics at University College London from 1865 to 1898, and served as the first Principal (salaried head of the College) from 1900 to 1904. In the 1860s he, in collaboration with Augustus Matthiessen, published three important papers on the chemical constitution of

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

s. In the summer of 1876 at South Kensington, Foster gave two lectures to science teachers on electrical measurements. He was the president of the Physical Society of London for two years beginning in 1887. He received an honorary LL.D. from the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

and an honorary D.Sc. from the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

. Foster was a member of the Athenaeum Club, London. In 1868 he married Mary Anne Frances Muir, who died in 1917 about 18 months before his own death in February 1919. Both of them were survived by all of their four sons and four daughters.

References

External links

The Carey Foster Bridge
description and image at Kenyon College {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Carey British chemists British physicists 1835 births 1919 deaths People from Ribble Valley (district) Fellows of the Royal Society Presidents of the Physical Society Alumni of University College London Academics of University College London Scientists from Lancashire