Henry Baker (1734–1766) was an English author. Baker was born at

Enfield, Middlesex Enfield is a large town in north London, England, north of Charing Cross. It had a population of 156,858 in 2018. It includes the areas of Botany Bay, Brimsdown, Bulls Cross, Bullsmoor, Bush Hill Park, Clay Hill, Crews Hill, Enfield Highw ...

, 10 February 1734, the second son of Henry Baker, F.R.S., and Sophia, daughter of

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...

. According to Nichols (Anecdotes of Bowyer, 416), he followed the profession of a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, but in no creditable line. He contributed occasional poetry and essays to periodicals, and in 1756 published, in two volumes, ''Essays Pastoral and Elegiac''. Wilson, in his ''Life of Defoe'', states that he died 24 August 1776, and was buried in the

churchyard In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster-Scots, this can also ...

St. Mary-le-Strand St Mary le Strand is a Church of England church at the eastern end of the Strand in the City of Westminster, London. It lies within the Deanery of Westminster (St Margaret) within the Diocese of London. The church stands on what was until rece ...

beside his mother, but the parish register gives the date of his burial as 24 August 1766. According to Chalmers, he left ready for the press an arranged collection of all the statutes relating to

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

, with cases, precedents, &c., entitled ''The Clerk to the Commission'', which is supposed to have been published under another title in 1768. His son, William Baker, born 1763, afterwards

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Lyndon and South Luffenham,

Rutland Rutland () is a ceremonial county and unitary authority in the East Midlands, England. The county is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire. Its greatest len ...

, inherited the property and papers of Henry Baker, F.R.S.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Henry 1734 births 1766 deaths 18th-century English people 18th-century English writers 18th-century English male writers People from Enfield, London