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David Foster (inventor)

English inventor (1848-1928) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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David Foster was an English inventor, best known for creating an early version of table tennis.

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Early life

Foster was born in Kingston upon Hull in 1848. Since a young age he had a keen interest in the grocery trade and his family links led him to move to Selby in North Yorkshire in the 1880s.[1][better source needed]

Career

In 1890 while living in Selby, Foster, influenced by lawn tennis (which at the time was popular in a lot of back gardens), filed a patent for his new sport in England. His original table tennis set consisted of strung rackets, a cloth-covered rubber ball, large side nets along the table, and a wooden fence surrounding the table's perimeter.[2][unreliable source?] Despite James Devonshire having already made a patent in 1885, he ended up abandoning it, making Foster the official creator.[3][unreliable source?]

After living in Selby for almost 40 years, Foster moved to Streatham, London, where he died in 1928 at the age of 80.[1]

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References

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