Fred Baker (physician)
| Fred Baker | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Frederick Baker January 29, 1854 Norwalk, Ohio |
| Died | May 16, 1938 (aged 84) San Diego, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Occupation | Physician |
| Known for | Civic activist, co-founder of San Diego Zoo, co-founder of Scripps Institution of Oceanography |
Frederick "Fred" Baker (January 29, 1854 – May 16, 1938) was an American physician and civic activist in San Diego, California. He was the prime mover in founding the Marine Biological Instititution, which became the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He was also a co-founder of the Zoological Society of San Diego and thus of the San Diego Zoo. He was a naturalist and an amateur malacologist.
Baker was born January 29, 1854, in Norwalk, Ohio. He earned a civil engineering degree from Cornell University in 1870, then joined a four-year scientific expedition in Central and South America. Returning to the United States, he earned an M.D. degree from the University of Michigan in 1880. He married Charlotte LeBreton Johnson, also a physician, in 1881. They moved to San Diego in 1888.
Baker set up a general practice with an eye, ear, nose, and throat specialty at St. Joseph's Hospital in San Diego, a forerunner of Scripps Mercy Hospital. His wife was an obstetrician-gynecologist at the same hospital. They were the first husband-and-wife physicians in San Diego. Both served as president of the San Diego County Medical Society, Fred in 1891, Charlotte in 1898.
Fred Baker served on the San Diego City Council, including a term as president of the Council. He served as a member of the Board of Education of the San Diego City Schools and as its president. He sat on the board of trustees of the State Normal School, which later became San Diego State University.
In 1916 another physician, Dr. Harry Wegeforth, conceived a plan to develop a zoo in San Diego, using animals left over from the Panama-California Exposition. He invited Fred Baker to become one of the founders. Fred and Charlotte hosted the first meeting of the Zoological Society of San Diego in their home, and Fred Baker was a founding director of the organization, serving as its treasurer. He remained a member of the board of directors until 1922.
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