Robert Baker (April 1862 – June 15, 1943) was an American politician and a U.S. Representative from New York from 1903 to 1905.
Robert Baker | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 6th district | |
| In office March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1905 | |
| Preceded by | George H. Lindsay |
| Succeeded by | William M. Calder |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 1862 Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, U.K. |
| Died | June 15, 1943 (aged 81) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Citizenship |  United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Gertrude A. Zoller Baker |
| Profession | Politician, stone paver |
Biography
editBorn at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, U.K. in April 1862, Baker attended the common schools; immigrated to the United States in 1882, and settled in Albany, New York. He married Gertrude A. Zoller in 1887.[1]
Career
editBaker moved to Brooklyn, New York, in 1889. After an unfortunate experience at the hands of a doctor, he became a Christian Scientist.[citation needed] A prominent reformer and follower of the single tax theories of Henry George, he was a founding member of the Citizens Union in 1897, and ran unsuccessfully for election to the State assembly in 1894 and auditor of New York City in 1902.
Elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-eighth Congress, Baker was a U.S. Representative for the sixth district of New York from March 4, 1903, to March 3, 1905.[2] His single term is office was marked with controversy as Baker stayed true to his reformist philosophy, and quickly earned the nickname "No Pass" Baker for declining the free railroad passes that were then regularly handed out to legislators by the B & O Railroad. A pacifist, he introduced legislation to disband the United States Military Academy at West Point and another motion condemning the "Bloody Sunday" massacre in St. Petersburg, Russia.
A figure of frequent ridicule in the Brooklyn press, he was unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1904 to the Fifty-ninth Congress and was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election in 1906 to the Sixtieth Congress in the heavily Republican Sixth Congressional District in Brooklyn.
Appointed secretary of the New York City Department of Docks and Ferries in 1906, Baker left that position after three days when John Bensel, Commissioner of the Department of Docks and Ferries, indicated that Baker would be prohibited from public speaking in his new job. Later in life he reversed his pacifist philosophy, and became a strong proponent of war with Nazi Germany, writing poems and letters to the Brooklyn Eagle in support of the cause. He engaged in stone paving and in the general real-estate business in Brooklyn, New York, until his death.[3]
Death
editBaker died in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, on June 15, 1943, at the age of 81. He is interred at The Evergreens Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, in Plot: Nazareth Section, Lot 936.[4]
References
edit- ^ "Robert Baker". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
- ^ "Robert Baker". Govtrack US Congress. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
- ^ "Robert Baker". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
- ^ "Robert Baker". Find A Grave. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
External links
edit- United States Congress. "Robert Baker (id: B000073)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress