Osmyn Baker (May 18, 1800 – February 9, 1875) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Born in

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a city in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. Amherst has a council–manager form of government, and is considered a city under Massachusetts state law. Amherst is one of several Massach ...

, Baker attended Amherst Academy. He was graduated from

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 1822. He studied law at Northampton Law School. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

and commenced practice in Amherst in 1825. He served as a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

in 1833, 1834, 1836, and 1837 and was County commissioner of

Hampshire County, Massachusetts Hampshire County is a historical and judicial county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 162,308. Its most populous municipality is Amherst (due to seasonal student population; the largest y ...

1834–1837. Baker was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of James C. Alvord. Baker was reelected to the Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth Congresses and served from January 14, 1840, to March 3, 1845. He served as chairman of the Committee on Accounts (Twenty-seventh Congress). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1844. He resumed the practice of law at Northampton in 1845. Baker was the first president of Smith Charities, serving from 1860 to 1870. He died in

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...

, February 9, 1875. He was interred in Bridge Street Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Osmyn 1800 births 1875 deaths Politicians from Amherst, Massachusetts Yale College alumni County commissioners in Massachusetts Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Northampton Law School alumni Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives