Herbert G. Baker

Herbert G. Baker
File:Herbert George Baker.jpg
Born	(1920-02-23)February 23, 1920 Brighton, England
Died	Oakland, California
Nationality	British American
Fields	Botany Genetics Ecology
Institutions	University of Leeds Carnegie Institution of Washington University College of the Gold Coast University of California, Berkeley
Alma mater	University of London (B.S., Ph.D.)
Notable students	Mary T. K. Arroyo Spencer C.H. Barrett Jane Haskett Bock Suzanne Koptur
Known for	Baker's rule Founding Member, Organization for Tropical Studies Founding Member, Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation 49 Ph.D. Students
Notable awards	Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences Honorary Fellow, Association for Tropical Biology Distinguished Fellow, Botanical Society of America President, Botanical Society of America President, California Botanical Society President, Society for the Study of Evolution
Spouse	Irene Baker (m. 1945; d. 1989)
Signature Herbert G. Baker's signature

Herbert George Baker (February 23, 1920 – July 2, 2001) was a British-American botanist and evolutionary ecologist who was an authority on pollination biology and breeding systems of angiosperms. He described what became known as "Baker's rule," a theoretical proposal underpinning an empirical observation that the ability to self-fertilize improves colonization ability among plants by increasing the probability of successful establishment after long-distance dispersal. He collaborated with his wife, Irene Baker, studying the content and function of nectar, and undertaking research and publishing papers on its evolutionary and taxonomic significance.

Early life and Education

Baker was born on February 23, 1920, in Brighton, England. He received his B.Sc. (1941) and Ph.D. (1945) from the University of London. He married a fellow biologist Irene Baker the same year.

Career

He was appointed lecturer from 1945 to 1954 and senior lecturer from 1954 to 1957 at the University of Leeds, and Professor at University College of the Gold Coast, Ghana, respectively. In 1948, he spent one year as a visiting researcher at the Carnegie Institute of Washington, closely working with the all-star group of plant biologists, which included Jens Clausen, David Keck, and William Hiesey. Following that experience, the Bakers moved to the United States, where Herbert became Director of the Botanical Garden at the University of California, Berkeley. The appointment had been recently vacated by Thomas Goodspeed.

Baker remained at Berkeley for the rest of his career, as a director of the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley from 1957 to 1969 and professor of botany in 1960. Baker published over 175 research articles and supervised 49 Ph.D. students. He received numerous awards during his long and distinguished career.

Publications

• The Genetics of Colonizing Species (1965). Edited with G. Ledyard Stebbins.
• Plants and Civilization (1965)