John Baird (February 11, 1859 – November 9, 1934), was a Republican politician from the State of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

from the 1890s through the 1920s, serving as Township Supervisor, State Representative, State Senator, Delegate to Michigan's 1907–1908 Constitutional Convention, and head of the Michigan Conservation Department (now Department of Natural Resources).

Early life

John Baird was born on February 11, 1859, in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British North America, British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham ...

, (now part of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

). His parents later moved to

Seaforth, Ontario Seaforth (2021 population: 2,673) is a Southern Ontario community in the municipality of Huron East, in Huron County, Ontario, Canada. History Originally known as ''Four Corners'' and ''Steene's Corners'' after an early settler, much of the a ...

, and stayed there until John's father died in 1874, and his mother took him and his siblings and moved to

Zilwaukee Zilwaukee is a city in Saginaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2020 census places the population at 1,534. The city is adjacent to and was created from Zilwaukee Township. It is the home of the Zilwaukee Bridge. History Zilwaukee was ...

, Michigan. After he became a U.S. citizen, John developed his interest in politics, and ran and was elected Zilwaukee Township Supervisor about 1890.

State Politician

In 1894, John Baird ran and was elected State Representative to the Michigan Legislature, and later elected State Senator. In 1906, Michigan voters approved calling a convention to write a new constitution for Michigan, and John Baird was elected a delegate in 1907. The new constitution that Johnny had a part in making was approved by the voters in November 1908 and took effect Jan, 1, 1909. In 1921, Michigan's series of different conservation departments were consolidated into the Michigan Conservation Department, and Governor

Alex Groesbeck Alexander Joseph Groesbeck (November 7, 1873 – March 10, 1953) was an American politician who served as attorney general and the 30th governor of Michigan. Early life Groesbeck was born in Warren, Michigan, the son of Macomb County Sheriff ...

appointed John Baird to be the first head of it, serving in that position until 1927.

Extraordinary Political Maneuvers

In 1912, when the Republican state nominating convention was to meet in Bay City to nominate a candidate for President, John Baird knew in advance there would be trouble between the delegates who wanted to nominate incumbent President

William H. Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

and those who wanted

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

. While communicating with an official over the phone about an issue, a switchboard operator left a phone line open, and Baird overheard a conversation between two men who were discussing the convention, and John Baird's prediction proved true when the convention turned into a brawl between Taft and Roosevelt delegates. In 1924, during the Michigan Presidential Primary, John Baird had the name of a Hiram Johnson from Milwaukee placed on the ballot, which matched the name of Democratic Senator Hiram Johnson of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. John Baird, who believed presidential primaries were a waste of time and money, was trying to show how vulnerable the primary was to tampering, and the Hiram Johnson he put on the ballot turn out to have died months earlier.

Quote from Baird

One day, John Baird was pulling weeds from his garden, and his young grandson David asked him what he was doing. He replied, "I'm pulling out the Democrats." His grandson said he thought they looked like weeds, in which John Baird said, "What's the difference? They both choke out anything that's good."

References

''The Saginaw (Mich.) News'', Nov. 10, 1934 {{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, John 1859 births 1934 deaths People from Saginaw County, Michigan Members of the Michigan House of Representatives Michigan state senators People from Huron County, Ontario Canadian emigrants to the United States