Sir George Baker, 1st Baronet, FRS, FSA (1 January 1722 – 15 June 1809) was physician to

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. He was born in

Modbury Modbury is a large village, ecclesiastical parish, civil parish and former manor situated in the South Hams district of the county of Devon in England. Today due to its large size it is generally referred to as a "town" although the parish co ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, the son of George Baker, vicar of Modbury, Devon and his wife Bridget Harris. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

. In 1749 he went to

Leyden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

to study physic, becoming MD in 1756. He was admitted to the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

in 1756 and became a fellow in 1757. He moved to Stamford, Lincolnshire to practice medicine but returned to London around 1761 to become very successful, being elected President of the Royal College of Physicians nine times between 1785 and 1795. In a presentation to the Royal College of Physicians he postulated that "Devonshire colic", a painful and occasionally fatal condition, was caused by

lead poisoning Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. The brain is the most sensitive. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, inferti ...

from drinking cider. When lead was removed from the cider manufacturing process the problem disappeared. He was appointed physician to the Queen's household and then physician to King George III, attending the king during his periods of madness. He was created Baronet Baker of Loventor in Totnes, Devon on 26 August 1776. He was a good classical scholar and fluent in Latin and Greek. He published a number of papers in Latin. 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 ...

in 1762 and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He was also made an honorary fellow of the

Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...

and a foreign fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine of Paris. He died in 1809, at the age of 87, and was buried at St. James's Church, Piccadilly, where a plain mural tablet to the north of the

Communion table Communion table or Lord's table are terms used by many Protestant churches—particularly from Reformed, Baptist and low church Anglican and Methodist bodies—for the table used for preparation of Holy Communion (a sacrament also called the '' ...

records his death. He had married Jane Morris, daughter of Roger Morris and Elizabeth Jackson, on 28 June 1768 at St. James's, Westminster. They had two children, of whom Sir Frederick inherited the baronetcy.Person Page 12929
Thepeerage.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-20.

References

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Munk's Roll Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, George, Sir, 1st Baronet 1722 births 1809 deaths Medical doctors from Devon People educated at Eton College Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Presidents of the Royal College of Physicians People from South Hams (district) Burials at St James's Church, Piccadilly 18th-century English medical doctors