Charles Baird (engineer)
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Charles Baird (20 December 1766 – 10 December 1843) was a Scottish engineer who played an important part in the industrial and business life of 19th-century
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
. His company specialised in steam-driven machinery and was responsible for Russia's first steamboat.


Biography

Born at Westerton, Bothkennar,
Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...
, a farm owned by the Gascoigne family, Charles was one of the nine children of Nicol Baird, who later became a toll collector and then superintendent of works for the
Forth and Clyde Canal The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal opened in 1790, crossing central Scotland; it provided a route for the seagoing vessels of the day between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde at the narrowest part of the Scottish Lowlands. This allo ...
. He was originally baptised Gascoigne Baird in January 1767. His younger brother Hugh Baird also became an engineer. Charles Baird started his working life in 1782 as an apprentice at the Carron Ironworks near
Falkirk Falkirk ( gd, An Eaglais Bhreac, sco, Fawkirk) is a large town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a ...
. By the age of 19 Baird had a supervisory post in the gun department, and in 1786 he accompanied a Carron Company manager,
Charles Gascoigne Charles Gascoigne (1738–1806) was a British industrialist at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. He was a partner and manager of the Carron Company ironworks in its early years, but left in 1786, before the company's success became ob ...
, a son of the owner's family, to Russia to establish the Aleksandrovsk gun factory at
Petrozavodsk Petrozavodsk (russian: Петрозаводск, p=pʲɪtrəzɐˈvotsk; Karelian, Vepsian and fi, Petroskoi) is the capital city of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, which stretches along the western shore of Lake Onega for some . The population ...
, and a cannonball foundry at
Kronstadt Kronstadt (russian: Кроншта́дт, Kronshtadt ), also spelled Kronshtadt, Cronstadt or Kronštádt (from german: link=no, Krone for "crown" and ''Stadt'' for "city") is a Russian port city in Kronshtadtsky District of the federal city of ...
. Gascoigne had been invited to Russia by
Samuel Greig Vice-Admiral Samuel Greig, or Samuil Karlovich Greig (russian: Самуи́л Ка́рлович Грейг), as he was known in Russia (30 November 1735, Inverkeithing, Fife, Scotland – 26 October 1788, Tallinn, Governorate of Estonia, Esto ...
, a Scot who was an admiral in the Russian Navy. Gascoigne Baird came to be known as Charles Baird, perhaps to avoid confusion with Charles Gascoigne, and had his change of name to Charles Baird officially sanctioned by the church authorities in Scotland in February 1792. In 1792, Baird entered into partnership with Francis Morgan, whose daughter Sophia he had married in June 1794. Their St. Petersburg business became known as the Baird Works (russian: Завод Берда) and specialised in steam-driven machinery. It supplied machinery for the
Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
,
Mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
, and glassworks, and undertook a range of projects from bridge-building to ornamental metalwork. Baird also had a
sugar refinery A sugar refinery is a refinery which processes raw sugar from cane or beets into white refined sugar. Many cane sugar mills produce raw sugar, which is sugar that still contains molasses, giving it more colour (and impurities) than the white ...
using his own innovative method of refining. The Baird Works were responsible for the ''Elizaveta'', Russia's first
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
, launched in 1815, and this early start gave them a ten-year monopoly on steamship routes from St. Petersburg, including the ''Elizaveta's'' run to Kronstadt. They had their own
wharves A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...
, and The St. Petersburg Times has said Baird helped "create a great industrial kingdom on the
Neva The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it ...
River that is known today as
Admiralty Shipyard The JSC Admiralty Shipyards (russian: link=no, Адмиралтейские верфи) (''formerly Soviet Shipyard No. 194'') is one of the oldest and largest shipyards in Russia, located in Saint Petersburg. The shipyard's building ways can ac ...
(Admiralteiskiye Verfi), the shipbuilding company." Baird's supplied the ironwork for several bridges, including the first
cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
arch bridge in Russia (1805) and from the 1820s,
suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...
s designed by Wilhelm von Traitteur, like the
Postoffice Bridge Postoffice Bridge (russian: Почтамтский мост, ''Pochtamtskiy most'') is a pedestrian bridge across Moika River in Saint Petersburg, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning ...
over the river
Moika The Moyka (russian: Мо́йка /MOY-ka/, also latinised as Moika) is a secondary, in comparison with the Neva River in Saint Petersburg that encircles the central portion of the city, effectively making it an island or a group of islands ...
. The company also worked with the architect
Auguste de Montferrand Auguste de Montferrand (; January 23, 1786 – July 10, 1858) was a French classicist architect who worked primarily in Russia. His two best known works are the Saint Isaac's Cathedral and the Alexander Column in St. Petersburg. Early ...
on the
Alexander Column The Alexander Column (russian: Алекса́ндровская коло́нна, ''Aleksandrovskaya kolonna'') also known as Alexandrian Column (russian: Александри́йская коло́нна, ''Aleksandriyskaya kolonna''), is the f ...
and
Saint Isaac's Cathedral Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor (russian: Исаа́киевский Собо́р) is a large architectural landmark cathedral that currently functions as a museum with occasional church services in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is ...
, and were responsible for technical aspects of the cathedral dome design. The business was operated by Russian
serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
s, some of them extremely skilled in fine ornamental metalwork, according to
James Nasmyth James Hall Nasmyth (sometimes spelled Naesmyth, Nasmith, or Nesmyth) (19 August 1808 – 7 May 1890) was a Scottish engineer, philosopher, artist and inventor famous for his development of the steam hammer. He was the co-founder of Nasmyth, ...
's account.''Autobiography'' Baird brought other engineers from Scotland to work with him: his son
Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural M ...
and nephew
William Handyside William Handyside (1793–1850) was a Scottish engineer who was involved in several important construction projects in St. Petersburg. Biography Born in Edinburgh on 25 July 1793, to merchant Hugh Handyside and his wife Margaret, he was the el ...
made important contributions, with Francis carrying the Baird Works forward after his father's death. Handyside took the lead in the firm's work with Montferrand, and another nephew, Nicol Hugh Baird who spent a few years in St. Petersburg, later became a noted Canadian engineer. Other Handyside brothers came to work in Russia, including Andrew Handyside. Charles' younger brother Hugh Baird was designer of the Edinburgh & Glasgow Union Canal. Charles Baird was known for his business skills as well as his technical ability, and his achievements were recognised both in Britain and in Russia. In 1841 he was elected to the
Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...
, and the many honours he received led to the title of Knight of St Vladimir. He died on 10 December 1843 and is buried in the
Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
Cemetery.


See also

*
Carronade A carronade is a short, smoothbore, cast-iron cannon which was used by the Royal Navy. It was first produced by the Carron Company, an ironworks in Falkirk, Scotland, and was used from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century. Its main func ...


References


Robert William Rennison, T. Cox, ''Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland, Vol 1'' (London 2002)
*''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' * James Nasmyth, ''Autobiography'' (1885);Chap 17
Carron Works


Notes


Further reading

*''Memoir of the late Charles Baird, esq., of St Petersburg, and of his son, the late Francis Baird, esq., of St. Petersburg and 4, Queens Gate, London'' (London, 1867)] * ''Russian Iron Bridges to 1850'' (Newcomen Society 1982)


External links


The Scots-Russian connection
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, Charles 1766 births 1843 deaths Scottish engineers Scottish civil engineers Scottish businesspeople Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 3rd class People from Falkirk (council area) 19th-century Scottish people 18th-century Scottish people 18th-century British engineers 19th-century British engineers Scottish inventors British expatriates in the Russian Empire