Murphy James Foster (January 12, 1849-June 21, 1921) is a Louisiana politician who served two terms as Governor of Louisiana (1892-1900). He was a Democrat. His grandson, Murphy J. Foster, Jr., served as governor of the state from 1996 to 2004. Foster was born in Franklin, Louisiana and attended preparatory school there. He went to Washington and Lee University and graduated from Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee. He studied law at Tulane University.
Prior to serving as Governor, he was a State Senator.
After leaving the office of governor in 1900, he become a U.S. Senator and eventually the Collector of Customs in New Orleans. He died in 1921 on the Dixie Plantation near Franklin, Louisiana.
