Thomas Baker (Unitarian)

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

Biography[]

Baker was born in Birmingham on 16 May 1810 and attended King Edward's School, Birmingham.[1] He studied divinity at Manchester College, York between 1827–32. Thereafter, he was a minister in Sidmouth, Devon, for a year and then moved to Manchester.[2] He continued his ministry until 1840, when he became a solicitor.[1]

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 , the book has been widely used and contains "much of value" despite its deficiencies.[2]

Baker, who lived at Skerton House in Old Trafford, was Mayor of Manchester between 1880–82. He was knighted in 1883 and died on 17 April 1886.[1]

Baker's brother, Franklin, was for many years the minister at Bank Street Unitarian Chapel in Bolton.[2] Another brother was Charles, who was a pioneer of education for the deaf and about whom Thomas published a memoir.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Remains, Historical and Literary, Connected with the Palatine Counties of Lancaster and Chester. Chetham Society. 1903. p. 152.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c McLachlan, Herbert (1950). "Cross Street Chapel in the Life of Manchester". Essays and Addresses. Manchester University Press. pp. 103–104.

Further reading[]

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