Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 7).djvu/34

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BAIRD
BAKER

which he was chairman in 1875-85. The Monu- ment des braves de 1760 at Quebec was erected in 1860 after his designs. He acted as joint architect of the parliament and departmental buildings at Ottawa in 1863-'5, and designed and carried out the Dufferin terrace in Quebec in 1872 and the arched aqueduct over St. Charles river in 1873. Among the buildings that have been erected after his plans are the asylum and church of the sisters of charity in Quebec, the Laval university build- ing, the music-hall, and many churches in and around Quebec, notably that of Ste. Marie, Beauce. Mr. Baillairge has frequently lectured on various scientific and technical subjects. He was in 1874 elected president of the Quebec association of architects, and is a member of numerous learned societies. His writings include a •' Treatise on Ge- ometry and Trigonometry" (Quebec, 1866) ; " Nou- veau Dictionnaire Prancjais, systeme educationnel ; rimes, consonnanees, homonymes " (1888) ; a simi- lar dictionary of English rhymes and synonyms (1890) ; and numerous professional papers.


BAIRD, Henry Samuel, lawyer, b. in Dublin, Ireland, 16 May, 1800 ; d. in Green Bay, Wis., 28 April, 1875. tfis father, Thomas Baird, one of the United Irishmen, was imprisoned for a year in Kil- mainham jail, Dublin, and on his release in 1803 came to the United States, whence in 1803 he was followed bv his family. Henry studied law at Pittsburg, ta.. and Cleveland. Ohio, and in 1822 settled in Mackinaw, Mich., where he opened a school. In the spring of 1823 a new court was es- tablished by act of congress, and he was admitted to practice. In September, 1824, he removed to Green Bay. In 1832 he served as quartermaster- general in the Black Hawk war, in 1836 was elected a member and chosen president of the first legislative council of the territory of Wisconsin, and the same year was appointed the first attor- ney-general of the territory, and subsequently in that year was secretary of Gov. Henry Dodge, U. S. commissioner to negotiate the treaty with the Menomenee Indians at Cedar Rapids, when about 4,000.000 acres were ceded to the U. S. gov- ernment. In 1846 he was a member of the Con- stitutional convention, and he was the last Whig candidate for governor of Wisconsin. For many years he was a vice-president of the State histor- ical society, and a contributor to its published collections. — His brother, Thomas James, b. in Dublin, Ireland, 30 April, 1794 ; d. in Pottsville, Pa., 5 April, 1842 ; was graduated at West Point in 1814, served in the war against Great Britain, and resigned a captain of artillery in 1828. — The son of the latter, Edward Carey, b. in Pottsville, Pa., in April, 1836; d. near Ashland. V'a., 14 Nov., 1874, served in the civil war for nearly four years, was assistant adjutant-general to Gen. John P. Reynolds, in command of the left wing of the Army of the Potomac; aiul at the battle of Gettys- burgthat general ilied in his arms. Baird was pro- moted to the rank of major for gallant conduct. BAKER, James, Canadian legislator, b. in Lon- don. 6 Jan., 1830. He was graduated at O.ford university, and entered the Indian navy, subse- quently becoming a cornet in the horse guards, later serving with the 8th hussars in the Crimean war. For bravery in the battle of Tchernaya and during the siege of Sebastopol he received medals with clasp. He retired from the army in 1875 with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, later travel- ling in the ea.st, the fruit of which was a volume entitled " Turkey in Europe." Removing with two sons to British Columbia, he became a farmer and ranchman, and in 1884 he was sent to the legislature, in which he still retains a scat. Col. Baker in 1892 was minister of education and im- migration, also provincial secretary and minister of mines. He is a younger brother of Gen. Valentine Baker Pasha, and of Sir Samuel Baker, governor-general of the Soudan.


BAKER, Loran Ellis, merchant, b. in Yar- mouth, Nova Scotia, 13 May, 1831. He was edu- cated at Yarmouth academy, engaged in mercan- tile pursuits, and became a banker and ship-owner. Since 1874 he has been president of the bank of Yarmouth. He is also president of the Marine railway, and has twice held that office in the Western counties railway — first in 1873-'4, on the organization of the company, and again in 1881-'6. He is also interested in woollen mills and gold- nlines, and in 1887 became president and manager of the Yarmouth steamship line between Boston, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton. He has been a member of the legislative council of Nova Scotia since 1878. He founded the Yarmouth free mu- seum and public library, and lias contributed in many other ways to the prosperity of the place. BAKER, Liicien, senator, b. in Ohio in 1846. At an early age he removed, with his parents, to Michigan, where he attended the public schools. In 1869 he removed to Kansas, took up his resi- dence in Leavenworth, aiul engaged in the practice of law. He followed his profession closely until 1895, when, after the sweejiing victory at the polls in November, 1894, of the Republican parly, head- ed by E. N. Morrill, over the Populists, headed by Gov. L. D. Lewelling, and the Democrats, headed by David Overmyer, he was elected to the U. S. senate as a Republican, to succeed John Martin, Democrat, for the term ending 3 March, 1901.


BAKER, Peter Carpenter, publisher, b. in North Hempstead, N. Y., 25 March, 1822 ; d. in New York city, 19 May, 1889. Four of his ances- tors were in the Revolutionary army. He entered a book-store in New York, learned the printer's trade, and in 1850. with Daniel Godwin, estab- lished the firm of Baker & Godwin, which made a sjiecialty of printing law-books and became widely known for fine work. In 1865 Mr. Baker established the law-publishing firm of Baker, Voorhis & Co., which is still in existence and has a large catalogue. Mr. Baker was one of the founders of the Metropolitan literary association, edited the " Steam Press," a patriotic periodical, during the civil war (1861-'.5), and originated the plan for a statue of Benjamin Franklin in Print- ing-house square. New York, which was given by Albert de Groot. He early became known as a public speaker, delivering orations at Fort Inde- pendence, N. Y., 4 July, 1848; at Trenton, N. J., 4 July, 1849 ; and in the old Broadwaj- tabernacle. New York, on the anniversary of Bunker Hill, 1853. He pulilished many addresses and mono- graphs, including, besides the orations noted above, "European Recollections" (New York, 1861) and "Benjamin Franklin " (186.5).


BAKER, William Spohn, antiquarian, b. in Philadelphia. Pa., 17 April, 1824; d. there. 10 Sept., 1897. He became a conveyancer, but later turned his attention to art and literary pursuits. Mr. Baker possessed a collection of engraved portraits of George Washington which was the most complete known, and his number of medals of Washington was second only to that of William S. Appleton, of Boston, while his collection of biographies of Washington was the most noted in existence. He was a member of the American philosophical society, one of the council of the Pennsylvania historical society, and for twelve years was vice-presi-