Foster, Robert C.

Foster (Harvard A.B. 1926; A.M. 1927) taugh history at Connecticut College from 1927-1932 and then returned to Harvard to study for a Ph. D. in botany. After completing his Ph. D. in 1936 he was appointed a Parker Traveling Fellow by Harvard, 1936-1937. From 1937-1938 Foster was an instructor of botany at the University of Arizona. He returned to Harvard in 1940 and made the rest of his career there, serving as assistant in the Gray Herbarium from 1940-1947, as acting curator from 1947 to 1954, and as botanist and bibliographer from 1954 until his retirement in 1970. In the latter function he was responsible for preparing the Gray Herbarium Card Index. Foster was primarily interested in the Iridaceae and the flora of Bolivia and published a number of papers on those topics as Contributions of the Gray Herbarium.

Foster earned his Harvard AB in 1926, his AM in 1927, and his PhD in 1936.

Foster was born in Springfield, Mass. on July 21, 1904, and was educated at Harvard, receiving his A.B. in 1926 and his A.M. in 1927. He taught history at Connecticut College from 1927-1932, and then returned to Harvard to study for a Ph.D. in botany. While at Harvard, he was an instructor of biology at Radcliffe College, 1934-1935. After completing his Ph.D. in 1936, he was appointed a Parker traveling Fellow by Harvard, 1936-1937. For 1937-1938, Foster was an instructor of botany at the University of Arizona. Foster returned to Harvard in 1940 and made the rest of his career there, serving as assistant in the Gray Herbarium from 1940 to 1947, as acting curator from 1947 to 1954, and as a botanist and bibliographer from 1954 until his retirement in 1970. In the latter function he was responsible for preparing the Gray Herbarium Card Index.

Foster was primarily interested in the Iridaceae and the flora of Bolivia and published a number of papers on those topics as Contributions of the Gray Herbarium. He did not complete his projected flora of Bolivia, but he did publish a catalogue of the ferns and flowering plants of Bolivia as a Contribution in 1958. Foster also published some short notes on historical-bibliographical problems pertaining to botany.

References: American Men of Science, eds. 6, 8, 9, 10