James Baird (30 November 1828 – 30 May 1915) was Scottish born and came to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

at 16 and soon established himself as a prominent merchant. Baird, a brother, and later a nephew built up a business which included a large array of general merchandise and eventually branched into the fishery supply business. He was an early steam yacht owner: GRIFFIN was built in 1865 for him by Aitken & Mansel, Whiteinch, Glasgow, Scotland. By the mid-1880s, they had entered the fish export trade and survived both the St. John's fire in 1892 and the banking collapse a few years later. He was highly important in the founding and supporting of many industries. Baird, despite his high profile and important business career, is best known in Newfoundland history for the famous ''Baird et al. v. Walker'' case. It was a dispute over the location and operation of a lobster factory on land deemed to be assigned to the French. Baird won a settlement in the

Supreme Court of Newfoundland The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador is the superior court for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Supreme Court has jurisdiction to hear appeals in both criminal and civil matters from the Provincial Court and design ...

. In 1898 he was appointed to the

Legislative Council of Newfoundland The Legislative Council of Newfoundland was the upper house of the General Assembly of Newfoundland from 1833 to 1934. The Legislative Council was appointed by the Governor of Newfoundland, not elected. Bills were submitted by the House of Assemb ...

, a position he held for the remainder of his life. Baird's summer house, known as both Bryn Mawr Cottage and Baird Cottage, was built in 1905 by architect William F. Butler. It burned in an early morning fire in December 2022.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

1828 births 1915 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of Newfoundland Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Newfoundland Dominion of Newfoundland people Newfoundland Colony people {{Canada-business-bio-stub