Sir Thomas Baker (16 May 1810 – 17 April 1886) was a Unitarian minister and Mayor of Manchester, England. Alderman baker

Biography

Baker was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

on 16 May 1810 and attended

King Edward's School, Birmingham King Edward's School (KES) is an independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the British Public school (UK), public school tradition, located in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Founded by Edward VI of England, King Edward VI in 1552, it ...

. He studied divinity at

Manchester College, York Harris Manchester College (HMC) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It was founded in Warrington in 1757 as a college for Unitarian students and moved to Oxford in 1893. It became a full college of the un ...

between 1827–32. During his career, he was a minister in

Sidmouth Sidmouth () is a town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England, southeast of Exeter. With a population of 13,258 in 2021, it is a tourist resort and a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A large part of the town has ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, for a year and then moved to Manchester. He continued his ministry until 1840, when he became a solicitor. In Manchester, Baker attended Cross Street Unitarian Chapel, of which he was a trustee for 20 years. He wrote a somewhat unreliable, eccentric book titled ''Memorials of a Dissenting Chapel'' (1884). The Unitarian and religious historian Alexander Gordon said that Baker was "an uncommonly good hater" and refused to be involved with the project but, according to Herbert McLachlan, the book has been widely used and contains "much of value" despite its deficiencies. Baker, who lived at Skerton House in

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

, was Mayor of Manchester between 1880–82. He was knighted in 1883 and died on 17 April 1886. Baker's brother,

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

, was for many years the minister at

Bank Street Unitarian Chapel Bank Street Unitarian Chapel is a Unitarianism, Unitarian place of worship in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. History Bank Street Chapel has its origins in a congregation established by the Great Ejection, ejected Presbyterianism, Presbyt ...

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

. Another brother was

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

, who was a pioneer of education for the deaf and about whom Thomas published a memoir.

Biography

References

Further reading