Record

Authorised form of name	Baker; Sir; Benjamin (1840 - 1907); civil engineer
Dates	1840 - 1907
Nationality	British
Place of birth	Keyford, Frome, Somerset, England
Date of birth	31 March 1840
Place of death	Bowden Green, Pangbourne, England
Date of death	19/05/1907
DatesAndPlaces	Burial: Idbury, near Chipping Norton Memorial Window: North aisle of the nave of Westminster Abbey, London, England
Occupation	civil engineer
Research field	Civil engineering
Activity	Career: Joined staff of Sir John Fowler, becoming a partner (1875); involved in constructing the Metropolitan Railway, London (1861) and the District Railway (1869); the firm were Consulting Engineers to the first underground railways in London; constructed the Forth Bridge (1882-1890); Baker designed the Aswan Dam (1898-1902) and Assyut Dam; designed Avonmouth dock; died of syncope. Honours: KCMG 1890; KCB 1902 Memberships: MICE; ASME (Honorary); Society of Engineers (Honorary); Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society (Honorary)
Membership category	Fellow
Date of election	05/06/1890
Age at election	50
Proposer	David Edward Hughes
	William Henry Preece
	John Fletcher Moulton
	Frederick Augustus Abel
	Thomas Hawksley
	Frederick Bramwell
	James Dewar
	James Thomson
	William Thomson
	William Robert Grove
	John Gray McKendrick
	Robert Grant
	James Thomson Bottomley
RSActivity	Royal Society roles: VP 1906-1907
Relationships	Parents: Benjamin Baker and Sarah Hollis
OtherInfo	Helped develop the underground railway system of London. Helped design and build the first Aswan dam. Helped design the vessel for the transportation of Cleopatra's Needle from Egypt to England. Expert witness at the public inquiry into the Tay Bridge disaster.
Source	Sources: Bulloch's Roll; DNB Obituaries: Proc Roy Soc Series A 1910-1911 vol 84 pp i-xi signed by W C U
Code	NA6909

Archives associated with this Fellow

RefNo	Title	Date
EC/1890/02	Baker, Sir Benjamin: certificate of election to the Royal Society
NLB/29/787	Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir Benjamin Baker, Fellow of the Royal Society	9 December 1904
NLB/21/371	Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir Benjamin Baker, Fellow of the Royal Society	6 November 1900
NLB/26/648	Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison to, Sir Benjamin Baker, Fellow of the Royal Society	5 May 1903
NLB/28/139	Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir Benjamin Baker, Fellow of the Royal Society	16 January 1904
MC/19/36	Letter from [Benjamin] Baker, 2 Queen Square Place, Queen Anne's Mansion, Westminster, to [Robert William Frederick] Harrison, Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society	12 December 1904
NLB/35/349	Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to The Editor "The Times"	22 May 1907
NLB/35/350	Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Messrs Harrison & Sons	22 May 1907
MC/22/480	Letter from William Cawthorne Unwin, Palace Gate Mansions, 29 Palace Gate, Kensington, to [Robert William Frederick] Harrison	1 July 1907
RR/11/234	Referee's report by Benjamin Baker, on a paper 'On the three-bar motion of watt' by William Brennand	24 January 1893
NLB/28/115	Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to Sir Benjamin Baker, Fellow of the Royal Society	12 January 1904
NLB/33/716	Copy letter from Robert William Frederick Harrison, to; Augustus Desire Waller, Lord Avebury [John Lubbock], Sir Benjamin Baker, Dr Henry Frederick Baker, Professor David Ferrier, Professor Sydney John Hickson, Dr A Scott, Mr Albert Charles Seward, Professor William Johnson Sollas, and Professor Silvanus Phillips Thompson, Fellows of the Royal Society	26 October 1906
AP/73/1	Unpublished paper, 'On some recent investigations in connection with the electro-deposition of metals' by T C Graham	27 October 1896
AP/73/1/1	Unpublished manuscript, 'On some recent investigations in connection with the electro-deposition of metals' by T C Graham	27 October 1896
MC/19/35	Letter from [Benjamin] Baker, 2 Queen Square Place, Queen Anne's Mansions, Westminster, to the Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society	13 March 1904
MC/19/34	Letter from [Benjamin] Baker, 2 Queen Square Place, Queen Anne's Mansions, Westminster, to the Assistant Secretary of the Royal Society	8 January 1904
MC/26/160	Letter from [Ernest R] Matthews, Borough Engineer, Borough of Bridlington, Town Hall, Bridlington, to Sir Joseph Larmor, [Secretary] of the Royal Society, Burlington House, S.W	18 January 1911
MC/19	Volume 19 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society	1904
MC/22/479	Letter from William Cawthorne Unwin, Palace Gate Mansions, 29 Palace Gate, Kensington, to [Robert William Frederick] Harrison	14 June 1907
MC/22	Volume 22 of miscellaneous correspondence regarding business matters, sent to the Royal Society	1907
ACS/1/1/59	Letter from [Benjamin] Baker, 2 Queen Square Place, Queen Anne's Mansions, Westminster, S.W., to [Alan Archibald Campbell Swinton]	21 May 1896

Add to My Items

New Letter Books

Tweets by theRCN

Papers of Robert Boyle

Papers of Howard Florey

Papers of Elsie Widdowson and Robert McCance

New Letter Books

Browse Collections

Record

Useful Links

Collection highlights