Francis Gibson Baily

Francis Gibson Baily FRSE (1868–1945) was a British electrical engineer remembered for his research into electromagnetism. He was one of the first to suggest the use of water power to produce electricity and as such was the forefather of hydroelectricity. He emphasised the need to preserve natural beauty and also recognised the advantages of alternating current in generating schemes.

Life He was born in Paddington, London on 18 March 1868 the son of Walter Baily and his wife, Mary Ann Gibson. He was educated at University College School in London and the School of Mines in Clausthal in Germany and then won a place at Cambridge University to study Natural Science, graduating in 1889. He went to work in the new world of electricity, first at James Simpson & Co and then at Siemens in Germany (1890-1892).

In Edinburgh he lived at the newly built student residences at 11 Ramsay Gardens at the head of the Royal Mile.

In the First World War he served as a Captain in the Royal Engineers and was responsible for developing ultrasensitive microphones used during tunnelling.

He retired in 1933 and died in Juniper Green, south-west of Edinburgh, on 23 February 1945.

Publications Hysteresis of Iron and Steel in a Rotating Magnetic Field (1894) The Distribution of Energy in Towns (1895) Trees and Shrubs for Housing Schemes and Roads (1938) The Development of Highland Water Power (1941) Small Water Power Schemes (1945)

Family

In 1899 at St Giles Cathedral he married Margaret Naismith Osborne Pagan (1878-1967) an opera singer. They had one son and one daughter.