David Foster | |
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Born | 1848 Kingston upon Hull, England |
Died | 1928 (aged 79–80) London, England |
David Foster was an English inventor, best known for creating an early version of table tennis.
Foster was born in Kingston upon Hull in 1848. Since a young age he had a keen interest in the grocery trade and his family links led him to move to Selby in North Yorkshire in the 1880s. [1] [ better source needed ]
In 1890 while living in Selby, Foster, influenced by lawn tennis (which at the time was popular in a lot of back gardens), filed a patent for his new sport in England. His original table tennis set consisted of strung rackets, a cloth-covered rubber ball, large side nets along the table, and a wooden fence surrounding the table's perimeter. [2] [ unreliable source? ] Despite James Devonshire having already made a patent in 1885, he ended up abandoning it, making Foster the official creator. [3] [ unreliable source? ]
After living in Selby for almost 40 years, Foster moved to Streatham, London, where he died in 1928 at the age of 80. [1]