T. Forster

T. Forster
Etching of Forster with his dog Shargs
Born
Thomas Ignatius Maria Forster

(1789-11-09)9 November 1789
Died2 February 1860(1860-02-02) (aged 70)
Brussels, Belgium
Alma materCorpus Christi College, Cambridge
Occupation(s)Astronomer, physician, naturalist, philosopher
Spouse
Julia Beaufoy
(m. 1817)
Children1
FatherThomas Furly Forster
Relatives

Thomas Ignatius Maria Forster FRAS FLS (9 November 1789 – 2 February 1860) was an English astronomer, physician, naturalist and philosopher. An early animal rights activist, he promoted vegetarianism and founded the Animals' Friend Society with Lewis Gompertz. He published pamphlets on a wide variety of subjects, including morality, Pythagorean philosophy, bird migration, Sati, and "phrenology", a term that he coined in 1815.