Marcus Baker
Illustration — Studio portrait of Marcus Baker • Illustration — Photograph of Marcus Baker as a young man in wire-rim glasses with a dark beard. Probably from the early 1880s when Baker worked in Los Angeles. • Illustration — Marcus Baker's portrait Marcus Baker (September 23, 1849 – December 12, 1903) was an American naturalist, explorer of Alaska, journalist, and newspaper editor.
Also recorded as M. Baker
Marcus Baker
NOAA Photolibrary · Public domain
- Born
- 1849 · Kalamazoo.
- Died
- 1903 · Washington and D.C.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- explorer · journalist · geographer · geologist · cartographer
- Fields
- geography · geology · cartography · journalism
- Education
- University of Michigan
- Languages
- English
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q11935284 · wikipedia · Marcus Baker
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The documentary record
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Institutions cited
Bibliothèque nationale de France
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Early life and education
Early life and education
Baker was born September 23, 1849, in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and graduated from the University of Michigan. After graduating, he worked as an instructor of mathematics at the University of Michigan from 1871 to 1873. On May 25, 1899, he married Marian Una Strong in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Documentary record
Marcus Baker (23 September 1849 – 12 December 1903) is documented in the authority records of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Marcus Baker was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States (23 September 1849) and died in Washington, District of Columbia, United States (12 December 1903).
Career
Career
In 1872, he was hired by William Healey Dall to be a naturalist on an expedition to Alaska, where he collected topographic and hydrographical data. He would continue to go with Dall to Alaska every year until 1888, when he co-founded the National Geographic Society and became one of the first editors of the National Geographic Magazine. He was one of the 15 original signers of the articles of incorporation for the National Geographic Society in 1888. Baker was well known for his work in geology and cartography.
Baker's home
Baker's home
Baker's home in DC was built in 1889 at 1905 16th Street NW. It is a 4,000 square foot five-bedroom townhouse with a two-bedroom, lower-level apartment. The house's molding and woodwork has been restored to preserve the house, however a media room with surround sound and a home theater, a garage, and outdoor decks have been added.
Organizations
Organizations
In 1890 Baker was named to the newly created US Board on Geographic Names by President Benjamin Harrison in Executive Order No. 28, as a member from the United States Geological Survey.
Death
Death
On December 12, 1903, he had a heart attack and died in Washington DC. Mount Marcus Baker in the Chugach Range of southern Alaska is named after him.
Photograph of Marcus Baker. Published in Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, D.C., Volume 8 (1905) by the Columbia Historical Society.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1849
Marcus Baker was born in 1849 at Kalamazoo.
1903
Marcus Baker died in 1903 at Washington, D.C..
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Kalamazoo.
Birth place
Washington and D.C.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q11935284: Marcus Baker
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Marcus Baker”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Marcus Baker, revision 1337703056 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Hunter, Cathy. Marcus Baker: National Geographic Founder and Editor. National Geographic.
- 2.Dall, William Healey.
- 3.Michigan, University of. General Catalogue of Officers and Students, 1837-1901. The University. 23. 1902.
- 4.Wellborn, Mark. National Geographic Founder's DC Home Hits The Market. Urban Turf.
References
Citations
References
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authority record
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Born at
1- KalamazooPlace
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Marcus Baker is recorded with the occupation cartographer. Recorded as explorer, journalist, geographer, geologist and cartographer.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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