Robert Foster (swimmer)

Robert Bagley Foster

Personal information
Born	(1891-02-22)February 22, 1891 Evanston, Illinois, United States
Died	August 25, 1960(1960-08-25) (aged 69) Westminster, London, England
Spouses	Josephine Pontius Ramsey ​ ​ (m. 1913, divorced)​ Barbara Newberry ​ ​ (m. 1935; div. 1950)​
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Medal record 1908 Summer 100 m freestyle

Robert Bagley Foster (February 22, 1891 – August 25, 1960) was an American swimmer and business executive.^[1] He competed in the men's 100 metre freestyle swimming at the 1908 Summer Olympics.^[2]

Foster was born on February 22, 1891 in Evanston, Illinois. He was the son of Lillian Eliza Foster (née Bagley) and Adelbert Merton Foster, founder of the Foster-Forbes Glass Company.^[3]

Foster attended Mercersburg Academy, where he graduated in 1909. He became the first Mercersburg student who competed at the Olympics, which he did before graduating high school. He trained with the Illinois Athletic Club.^[2]

Foster competed in the men's 100 metre freestyle swimming event at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London. His team won an Olympic Gold.^[2][4]

After returning from the 1908 Olympics, he initially worked for his father's company, Foster-Forbes Glass. He later returned to England with his first wife Josephine Ramsey, where he was worked for the family company Colgate-Palmolive.^[2]

Foster married Josephine Pontius Ramsey on June 11, 1913. They had two children: a daughter Phoebe Louise Foster in 1917, who married Lieutenant Osbert Stephen Boothby, the son of Commander William Osbert Boothby MVO RN, and a son David Ramsey Foster in 1920, who was a decorated pilot in the British Royal Navy during World War II and business executive.

Foster and Ramsey divorced and on December 28, 1935, he married Barbara Newberry, an American actress. They divorced in February 1950.^[5]

• Robert Foster at Olympedia