Michael Foster

Engraving by J. Neagle based on a picture by James WillsSir Michael Foster (1689–1763) was an English barrister and judge. Foster was born in Marlborough, Wiltshire 16 December 1689, and attended the free school in Marlborough before enrolling briefly at Exeter College, Oxford before studying law at the Middle Temple. Foster began his legal career in Bristol, where he became a prominent barrister before he was appointed the recorder of Bristol in August 1735 and serjeant-at-law in 1736. Foster served as recorder until his resignation in 1764. In 1745, he was knighted and appointed a puisne judge of the King's Bench. He sat on the King's Bench for 18 years, where he acquired a reputation for learnedness, integrity, and independence of judgment. Foster died in November 1763, aged 73.

Early life and education Michael Foster was born at Marlborough, Wiltshire, on 16 December 1689. His father, Michael Foster, revised in 1776 and 1792 by his nephew, Michael Dodson, barrister of the Middle Temple, London.