James Foster (1845-1905)
James Foster (1845-1905)
Studied the process for evaporating sugar solutions; he worked for Fullerton, Hodgart and Barclay who made evaporators of similar appearance (see photo)
1901. Patent for evaporator for sugar processing plant.
1905 Obituary [1]
JAMES FOSTER was born at Sunderland on 2nd October 1845, and came of an old and well-known North of England Quaker family.
His apprenticeship was served with Messrs. Boyd, Thompson and Co., Newcastle-on-Tyne, and George Clark, Sunderland.
In 1867 he went out to China, remaining there six years, and living at Hong Kong, Saigon, and Bangkok.
In 1877 he proceeded to Java as the representative of Messrs. George Fletcher and Co., Derby and London, and remained there until 1884, when he came home, only to return again in the following year on his own account.
He left Java finally in 1888, and shortly after entered the service of Messrs. Duncan Stewart and Co., Glasgow, in whose interests he visited Nicaragua, Antigua, and Bahia, Brazil.
He joined Messrs. Fullerton, Hodgart and Barclay, of Paisley, in 1895, and remained with them till his death, which took place at Glasgow very suddenly on 10th March 1905, in his sixtieth year.
He made a special study of sugar machinery and evaporating plant of all kinds, and was the inventor of numerous devices connected therewith.
In 1890 he compiled and published a work on "Evaporation by the Multiple System," which has run to several editions.
He became a Member of this Institution in 1888.