Robert Coleman Foster I (July 8, 1769 – September 27, 1844) was an American attorney and politician.

He settled near Bardstown, Kentucky, where his son Ephraim was born in 1794, before moving his family to Nashville in 1797.

[2] He was one of Nashville's earliest residents, and one of the original twelve trustees of Davidson Academy, which eventually became Peabody College, and eventually part of Vanderbilt University.

Foster was elected to the Tennessee General Assembly as a member of Tennessee House of Representatives, serving from 1803 to 1807, including a term as speaker of the House in the 6th General Assembly, from 1805 to 1807.

Foster died on September 27, 1844, and is buried in the Nashville City Cemetery.