William E. Foster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 2 June 1851  Brattleboro |
| Died | 10 September 1930 (aged 79) |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Librarian |
William Eaton Foster (June 2, 1851 - September 10, 1930) was an American librarian and author.
William E. Foster | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Born | 2 June 1851 Brattleboro |
| Died | 10 September 1930 (aged 79) |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation | Librarian |
William Eaton Foster (June 2, 1851 - September 10, 1930) was an American librarian and author.
He was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, to Joseph Coggin Foster and Abigail Eaton Foster and raised in Beverly, Massachusetts. [1] He graduated from Brown University in 1876 and went to work as a librarian in the Hyde Park, Massachusetts Public Library. Foster went on to work as a cataloger for the Turner Free Library in Randolph, Massachusetts, and also worked part-time for the Boston Public Library. [2]
Foster attended the "Convention of Librarians" held during the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia which is when the American Library Association was formed.
He returned to Providence, Rhode Island, in 1877 to assist in opening the Providence Public Library and served as its Director until his retirement in 1930. During his tenure in Providence, Foster wrote numerous articles for the Providence Journal to promote the library. He also gave lectures to various groups around the city and published books on a variety of subjects. [3]
In February 1891 he addressed the annual meeting of the Rhode Island Society of the Sons of the American Revolution which he joined as a charter member when it was founded the previous year.
Foster retired from the Providence Public Library after 53 years of service in February 1930 due to illness. He died on September 10, 1930, after a long illness. He was survived by his wife of 44 years, Julia Appleton Foster.
James Hammond Trumbull was an American historian, philologist, bibliographer, and politician. A scholar of American Indian languages, he served as the first Connecticut State Librarian in 1854 and as Secretary of State from 1861 to 1866.
Justin Winsor was an American writer, librarian, and historian. His historical work had strong bibliographical and cartographical elements. He was an authority on the early history of North America and was elected the first president of the American Library Association as well as the third president of the American Historical Association.
Theodore Foster was an American lawyer and politician from Rhode Island. He was a member of the Federalist Party and later the National Republican Party. He served as one of the first two United States senators from Rhode Island and, following John Langdon, served as dean of the Senate.
James Manning was an American Baptist minister, educator and legislator from Providence, Rhode Island. He was the first president of Brown University and one of its most involved founders, and served as minister of the First Baptist Church in America.
John Russell Bartlett was an American historian and linguist.
William Frederick Poole was an American bibliographer and librarian.
Moses Brown was an American abolitionist and industrialist from New England who funded the design and construction of some of the first factories for spinning machines during the American industrial revolution, including the Slater Mill which was the first modern factory in America.
Dwight Foster was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate.
Herbert Warren Ladd was the 40th and 42nd Governor of Rhode Island for two terms: 1889–90 and 1891–92.
George Parker Winship was an American librarian, author, teacher, and bibliographer born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard in 1893.
Reuben Aldridge Guild was the librarian of Brown University from 1848 to 1893. He was born in Dedham, Massachusetts.
John Carter Brown II was a book collector whose library formed the basis of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University.
Jabez Bowen, Sr. was an American shipper, slave trader and politician. He was a militia colonel during the American Revolutionary War, and served as Deputy Governor of Rhode Island and chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
Dwight Foster was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served as Massachusetts Attorney General and was an associate justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Charles Value Chapin was an American pioneer in public health research and practice during the Progressive Era. He was superintendent of health for Providence, Rhode Island between 1884 and 1932. He established one of the earliest municipal public health laboratories in 1888, and the Providence City Hospital for contagious diseases in 1910. Chapin taught at Brown University and Harvard. In 1927 he served as president of the American Public Health Association and as the first president of the American Epidemiological Society.
Norman Morrison Isham (1864–1943) was a prominent architectural historian, author, and professor at Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). He was an ardent preservationist and a pioneer in the study of early American architecture.
Thomas Randolph Adams was librarian of the John Carter Brown Library and John Hay Professor of Bibliography and University Bibliographer at Brown University.
Sarah Elizabeth Doyle was an American educator and educational reformer, noted for her roles in founding the Rhode Island School of Design and establishing women's education at Brown University.
William R. Walker was an American architect from Providence, Rhode Island, who was later the senior partner of William R. Walker & Son.
Margaret Bingham Stillwell was an American librarian and bibliographer who spent most of her professional career as curator of the Annmary Brown Memorial.