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Sir Michael Foster (8 March 1836 – 29 January 1907) was an English
physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...
. He was instrumental in organizing the
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
Biological School and acted as Secretary of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
.


Biography

Foster was born in
Huntingdon Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by John, King of England, King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver C ...
,
Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...
, in March 1836, the son of Michael Foster, FRCS. He was educated at Huntingdon Grammar school where he played cricket for the first eleven and was described as "a capital cricketer", in his role as wicket-keeper batsman and
University College School University College School, also known as UCS, is a private day school in Frognal, Hampstead, London, England. The school was founded in 1830 by University College London and inherited many of that institution's progressive and secular views. ...
, London. After graduating in medicine in 1859, he began to practise in his native town, but in 1867 he returned to London as teacher of practical physiology at
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 ...
, where two years afterwards he became professor. In 1870 he was appointed by
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
, to its praelectorship in physiology, and thirteen years later he became the first occupant of the newly created chair of physiology in the university, holding it till 1903. One of his most famous students at Cambridge was
Charles Scott Sherrington Sir Charles Scott Sherrington (27 November 1857 – 4 March 1952) was a British neurophysiology, neurophysiologist. His experimental research established many aspects of contemporary neuroscience, including the concept of the spinal reflex as a ...
who went on to win the
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
in 1932. He married first, in 1864, Georgina Edmonds, daughter of Cyrus Read Edmonds. Following her death in 1869, he married secondly, in 1872, Margaret Rust, daughter of George Rust, JP, of Huntingdon. He lived at Nine Wells House,
Great Shelford Great Shelford is a village located approximately to the south of Cambridge, in Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. In 1850 Great Shelford parish contained bisected by the River Cam. The population in 1841 was 803 people. By 2001, this had g ...
in the Gog Magog Hills opposite his friend and fellow physiologist W H Gaskell.


Career

He excelled as a teacher and administrator, and had a very large share in the organization and development of the Cambridge biological school. From 1881 to 1903 he was one of the secretaries of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
, and in that capacity exercised a wide influence on the study of biology in Britain. In the 1899 Birthday Honours, he was created a Knight Commander of the
Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
(KCB), and served as president of the
British Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chief ...
at its meeting at Dover in September 1899. Foster was elected to represent the
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
in parliament in a
by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
in February 1900, and returned unopposed in the 1900 general election held later the same year. He stood for the
Liberal Unionist Party The Liberal Unionist Party was a British political party that was formed in 1886 by a faction that broke away from the Liberal Party. Led by Lord Hartington (later the Duke of Devonshire) and Joseph Chamberlain, the party established a political ...
, and though returned as a Unionist, his political action was not to be dictated by party considerations, and he gravitated towards
Liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
. He played no prominent part in parliament and indicated a desire to resign in 1902, but stayed on until the next election of 1906, where he stood for re-election but was defeated. He was joint editor with E. Ray Lankester of ''The Scientific Memoirs of Thomas Henry Huxley''. His chief writings were a ''Textbook of Physiology'' (1876), which became a standard work, and ''Lectures on the History of Physiology during the 16th, 17th and 18th Centuries'' (1901), which consisted of lectures delivered at the
Cooper Medical College The Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California, United States. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Fran ...
,
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, in 1900. He was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
in 1902. He died suddenly in London in 1907.


Irises

Foster was also the binomial author of many iris species. One of many irises he introduced includes '' Iris lineata'' Foster ''ex'' Regel''Iris lineata'' was originally described and published in ''Gartenflora'' XXXXVI. (1887) 201, t. 1244. (or A.Regel), which was originally described and published in ''Gartenflora'' (1887), and later cited in ''
Curtis's Botanical Magazine ''The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed'', is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine''. Each of the issue ...
'' (1888). The species '' Iris fosteriana'' was named after Foster by Aitchison, in 1881. The British Iris Society recognised his significant contributions with the introduction of the Foster Memorial Plaque in 1926. This is a medal made of sterling silver, hallmarked by Toye & Co., London, one side cast in
bas relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...
with an oval portrait of Foster, within a bed of irises, a banner above inscribed 'In Memory Sir Michael Foster 1836-1907'. The other side named the award winner. Early awardees included, in 1927 George Yeld VMH, American John Wister and Frenchman Seraphin Mottet. In 1936 it was given to painter William Caparne. This award has continued into the twenty-first century.


References


Bibliography

* * ;Attribution *


External links


Biography and bibliography
in the
Virtual Laboratory The online project Virtual Laboratory. Essays and Resources on the Experimentalization of Life, 1830-1930, located at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, is dedicated to research in the history of the experimentalization of life. T ...
of the
Max Planck Institute for the History of Science The Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte) is a scientific research institute founded in March 1994. It is dedicated to addressing fundamental questions of the history of knowled ...
* *
Obituary
in The Journal of Physiology
Photograph of Sir Michael's residence, Nine Wells House
Great Shelford Great Shelford is a village located approximately to the south of Cambridge, in Cambridgeshire, in eastern England. In 1850 Great Shelford parish contained bisected by the River Cam. The population in 1841 was 803 people. By 2001, this had g ...
. This house used to have an extensive iris garden planted by Sir Michael, but the iris garden was lost during WW II.
Sir Michael Foster
works @Google Books * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Michael 1836 births 1907 deaths People from Huntingdon People educated at University College School Academics of University College London Alumni of the University of London English agnostics English physiologists Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Fullerian Professors of Physiology Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for London University UK MPs 1895–1900 UK MPs 1900–1906 Presidents of the British Science Association Liberal Unionist Party MPs for English constituencies Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Victoria Medal of Honour recipients People from Great Shelford The Journal of Physiology editors Professors of Physiology (Cambridge) Presidents of the Cambridge Philosophical Society International members of the American Philosophical Society