Bernard N. Baker
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Bernard Nadal Baker (11 May 1854 – 20 December 1918) was a
shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...
magnate from
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. Baker descended from generations of wealthy Baltimore merchants and glass manufacturers. He studied in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
with the
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
and
chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...
Frederick Genth and was a special student at
Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...
. In the 1880 Census Baker identified himself as a glass manufacturer, but he had also founded three businesses supplying coal, tugs, and lighters and cold storage facilities in Baltimore harbor. Although the U.S. mercantile marine had been declining for decades in the face of
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
competition and high domestic operating costs, Baker’s ambition was to build a major American owned
transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film), ...
steamship line in Baltimore. In 1881, with the support of the
Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
(which wanted a transatlantic outlet for its freight business) Baker established the
Atlantic Transport Line The Atlantic Transport Line was an American passenger shipping line based in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1901 the company was folded into the International Mercantile Marine Company (IMM). History The line developed with railroad support as an offs ...
(A.T.L.). Shipping freight and livestock from Baltimore and Philadelphia, Baker quickly became the second-largest American steamship operator. In 1892 he initiated the exclusively first class direct
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
passenger service for which the A.T.L. became famous. Baker’s move to sell the line to his principal British competitor in the late 1890s led to the creation of J Pierpont Morgan's colossal
International Mercantile Marine Company The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Company, was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. IMM was founded by shipping magnates ...
(IMM) in 1902 through the merger of the A.T.L. and six other companies. Baker effectively retired from the shipping business when the IMM was formed and lost much of his fortune when the IMM shares for which he exchanged his A.T.L. shares plummeted in value. But he had gained an international reputation as an authority on shipping and was consulted by the U.S. Government on the
Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
and was one of four experts appointed for a National Sub-Committee on Transportation Problems. He supplied much of the data for the contentious shipping bill in 1915, and having been one of the moving spirits in its creation, he was appointed by President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
as one of the five members of the
United States Shipping Board The United States Shipping Board (USSB) was established as an emergency agency by the 1916 Shipping Act (39 Stat. 729), on September 7, 1916. The United States Shipping Board's task was to increase the number of US ships supporting the World War ...
during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Baker held many directorships and other positions, and was for example a Trustee of
Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
, President of the Conservation Congress, and a member of the Baltimore-based Moral Education Board. But despite his wealth and influence he had no active interest in politics. Described as "large of heart and of indefatigable energy," Baker was a determined and skilled executive who was not afraid to use new methods or to branch out into new lines of business. He was remarkably successful in all of his ventures but a newspaper article of the day commented that "he lives modestly and gives a great deal of his money away." He lent vessels to carry grain to starving
Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...
and for use as
hospital ship A hospital ship is a ship designated for primary function as a floating medical treatment facility or hospital. Most are operated by the military forces (mostly navies) of various countries, as they are intended to be used in or near war zones. ...
s in time of war, and he gave large sums to a wide variety of worthy causes. Baker was an
Anglophile An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents. Etymology The word is derived from the Latin word ''Anglii'' and Ancient Greek word φίλος ''philos'', meaning "frien ...
who supposedly knew
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
almost as well as he knew
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. He married Elizabeth Livezey in 1877 and the couple had two daughters, of whom
Marguerite Harrison Marguerite Elton Harrison (1879–1967) was an American reporter, spy, filmmaker and translator. She was also one of the four founding members of the Society of Woman Geographers. Biography Harrison was born Marguerite Elton Baker, one of two d ...
had an adventure-filled life as a journalist, moviemaker, and spy. In 1889, Baker built a 49-room Georgian mansion "Ingleside" in
Catonsville Catonsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 41,567 at the 2010 census. The community lies to the west of Baltimore along the city's border. Catonsville contains the majority of th ...
. In 1916 Baker married Rosalie Barry and fathered a third daughter. Baker was wintering in
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 ...
when he was taken ill and died in December 1918. A chair in chemistry at Johns Hopkins University and a
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Baltimore-built
Liberty Ship Liberty ships were a class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost construction. Mass ...
were named after him.


References

*''The American Line (1871-1902)'', Flayhart William Henry III, 2000 *The ''Baltimore Sun'', December 1918 *''A Century of Atlantic Travel: 1830-1930'', Frank Charles Bowen, 1930 *''Men of Mark in Maryland'', Carroll, David H & Thomas G Boggs, B.F. Johnson, Inc, Baltimore, 1911 *Some Financial Aspects of the International Mercantile Marine Company, Earl A. Saliers, ''The Journal of Political Economy'', November 1915


External links


The Atlantic Transport Line 1881 - 1936
*
The White Star Line and The International Mercantile Marine Company
', William B Saphire, The Titanic Historical Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Bernard N. 1854 births 1918 deaths Businesspeople from Baltimore American businesspeople in shipping People from Catonsville, Maryland Yale College alumni 19th-century American businesspeople