Foundling Hospital

The Foundling Hospital was founded in seventeen thirty-nine by Thomas Coram, a sea captain who was deeply disturbed by the sight of abandoned infants dying on the streets of London. He spent seventeen years petitioning for a royal charter, eventually succeeding with the help of high-society women who made the charity a fashionable cause. The institution aimed to prevent infanticide by providing a secure home for children whose mothers were unable to support them. Because the hospital had limited space, admission was initially determined by a lottery system where mothers drew colored balls to see if their child would be accepted. This location in Bloomsbury became a center for both social reform and, unexpectedly, the arts.