Hugh Cossart Baker Jr. (9 December 1846, in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, Canada West – 18 March 1931) was a businessman and telephone pioneer. On June 20, 1877, Baker started up the first commercial telephone service in Canada in the city of Hamilton, Ontario. Then in 1878, he made the first telephone exchange in the British Empire. This was also the second telephone exchange in all of North America. The following season on 15 May 1879 he made Hamilton the site of the first commercial long-distance telephone line in the British Empire. In 1880, (April 29) Hugh Cossart Baker Jr. received a charter to build a national telephone company in Hamilton, Ontario. It was called the ''Hamilton Telephone Company'' and this was the charter that enabled the creation of the Bell Telephone Company in Canada. Hugh Cossart Baker Jr. became the manager of the Ontario division until he retired in 1909. The first telephone had been leased to Prime Minister Alexander Mackenzie in September 1877. Baker learned of

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and Te ...

's invention in 1877 at the Philadelphia International Exposition and from there decided to test the communication tool in Hamilton. He leased four telephones for himself and his chess partners and on August 29, 1877, the telephone replaced the telegraph as the means to discuss their chess moves. Baker is also credited with helping to create the

Hamilton Street Railway The Hamilton Street Railway commonly known as the HSR is a public transport agency in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The name is a legacy of the company's early period, when public transit in Hamilton was primarily served by streetc ...

Company, the Hamilton Real Estate Association and the Canada Fire and Marine Insurance Company - all before he was 30 years old. His father,

Hugh Cossart Baker Sr. Hugh Cossart Baker Sr. (September 1818 in Kent, England – 2 March 1859 in Savannah, Georgia, USA) was a banker, businessman, and mathematician. Baker established the first life insurance company in Canada 21 August 1847; the Canada Life Assurance ...

, established the first life insurance company in Canada on 21 August 1847; the

Canada Life Assurance Company The Canada Life Assurance Company, commonly known as Canada Life, is an insurance and financial services company with its headquarters in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The current company is the result of the 2020 amalgamation of The Great-West Life Assur ...

External links

Hamilton Gallery of Distinction: Hugh Cossart Baker, Jr.
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References

1846 births 1931 deaths Businesspeople from Hamilton, Ontario Pre-Confederation Ontario people {{Canada-engineer-stub