Sir Augustus John Foster, 1st Baronet, (1 or 4 December 1780 – 1 August 1848) was a British diplomat and politician. Born into a notable British family, Foster served in a variety of diplomatic functions in continental Europe and the United States, interrupted by a short stint as a member of parliament. He wrote about his American experiences in Notes on the United States of America.
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Early life and family
Foster was born in 1780, possibly in Ireland, to John Thomas Foster (d. 1796) and Lady Elizabeth Hervey, daughter of Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol. He went on to study at Drogheda Grammar School and Christ Church, Oxford.
He enjoyed a comfortable social situation; his father was the Irish MP for Ennis and first cousin of John Foster, 1st Baron Oriel and William Foster, and his mother, Lady Elizabeth Foster, would later go on to marry William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire, was herself the daughter of Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol. Augustus had one older brother, Frederick (1777–1853) and an elder sister Elizabeth (b. 1778), who died several days after birth, as well as two illegitimate half-siblings fathered by Devonshire. Augustus's parents separated in 1781, at which time he and his brother remained in the care of his father while his mother moved to Chatsworth House.