Andrew Wilson Baird (26 April 1842 – 2 April 1908) was a Scottish colonel of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

. He is best remembered for his work in tidal studies of the coast of India.

Life

Born and baptised 26 April 1842 in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, he was the son of Thomas Baird and Catherine Imray. He was educated at

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...

, Aberdeen, before entering the Military College of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

at Addiscombe in June 1860. Joining the Royal Military Academy at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

in January 1861, he was made a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers the following year, and sailed for India on 1 March 1864. In India he was appointed special assistant engineer of the Bombay harbour defence works, and was responsible for ordering the buildings of the batteries at Oyster Rock and Middle Ground. After serving as assistant field engineer in the Abyssinian expedition of 1868 under Sir Robert Napier, in December 1869 Baird was assistant superintendent of the trigonometrical survey of India, and conducted extensive tidal observations at the Gulf of Cutch. He briefly returned to England in 1870, after being affected by the heat, but returned and continued his work in tidal observations. He was promoted to captain on 4 April 1874 and a major on 18 December 1881. Between July 1885 and August 1889, he headed the mints at Calcutta and Bombay, until he was appointed the permanent mint master at Calcutta on 12 August. He was appointed a colonel on 9 April 1896, and retired from the mint the following year, making his home at Palmers Cross, near

Elgin, Moray Elgin (; sco, Ailgin; gd, Eilginn, ) is a town (former cathedral city) and formerly a Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher gr ...

. In 1885, he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. and appointed CSI in the

1897 Diamond Jubilee Honours The Diamond Jubilee Honours for the British Empire were announced on 22 June 1897 to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria on 20 June 1897. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ar ...

. He was the father of Gen. Sir Douglas Baird. He died on 2nd April 1908 and was buried on the eastern side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

. His grave (no.37143) has no headstone or marker.

References

External links

* 1842 births 1908 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery People from Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Companions of the Order of the Star of India Royal Engineers officers Fellows of the Royal Society {{Scotland-bio-stub