Sir M. (Michael) Foster

Born in Huntingdon in 1836, Sir Michael Foster trained in medicine at University College, London, and began his career in medical practice before moving into teaching and research. He became one of the central figures in British physiology in the late nineteenth century, known for bringing practical laboratory methods into the study of biology and medicine.

At Cambridge, he was instrumental in building the university's Biological School and later became its first Professor of Physiology. He also helped found The Journal of Physiology and The Physiological Society, extending his influence well beyond his own classroom through the institutions he helped create.

Foster's work mattered not only because of his own research, but because of the scientific culture he encouraged: careful experiment, strong teaching, and collaboration. He later served as Secretary of the Royal Society, and his reputation reached beyond physiology into public life and other fields of natural history.