John Timoteo Baker

John Timoteo Baker
John Timoteo Baker in Western dress
Governor of Hawaii Island
In office February 8, 1892 – February 25, 1893
Monarch	Liliuokalani
Preceded by	Ululani Lewai Baker
Personal details
Born	1852 Piʻihonua, Hawaii, Kingdom of Hawaii
Died	September 7, 1921 (aged 68–69) Pauoa Valley, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii
Resting place	Homelani Memorial Park, Hilo
Nationality	Kingdom of Hawaii United States
Political party	Hawaiian National
Spouse(s)	Ululani Lewai Baker
Parents	Adam C. Baker Luka Pruvia
Occupation	Politician, businessman, rancher

John Timoteo Baker, also given as John Tamatoa Baker, (1852 – September 7, 1921) was a Hawaiian politician, businessman, and rancher who served many political posts in the Kingdom of Hawaii, including Governor of the Island of Hawaii from 1892 to 1893. Baker and his brother became the models for the Kamehameha Statues.

Baker was born 1852 at Piʻihonua, on the island of Hawaii, of part Hawaiian, Tahitian, and English descent. His parents were Adam C. Baker, an English sea captain, and Luka Pruvia, daughter of an early Tahitian missionary to Hawaii. His brother was Robert Hoapili Baker. He married the High Chiefess Ululani Lewai Peleiōhōlani, who served as Governess of the Island of Hawaii from 1886 to 1888.

In 1879, Baker and his brother Robert Hoapili Baker became the model for the Kamehameha Statues by American sculptor Thomas Ridgeway Gould. The statue was commissioned by King Kalākaua in honor of the centennial of James Cook's landing in the Hawaiian Islands. The original statue was cast in 1880 but lost at sea. A second cast was installed in 1883 at Aliʻiōlani Hale while the recovered original cast was installed at Kapaʻau, Kohala, the birthplace of Kamehameha I. According to Walter M. Gibson, "[t]he artist has copied closely the fine physique of [Robert] Hoapili [Baker]...and it presents a noble illustration and a correct type of superior Hawaiian manhood". Two photographs of John modeling as Kamehameha survive, one in its original form and another in the form of a composite photograph with the bare legs of a Hawaiian fisherman.