Jacob Thompson Baker

Jacob Thompson Baker (April 13, 1847 – December 7, 1919) was an American attorney, banker, and Democratic Party politician who represented New Jersey's 2nd congressional district for one term from 1913 to 1915. He also served as the first mayor of Wildwood, New Jersey.

Early life and education J. Thompson Baker was born on a farm in Union County, Pennsylvania, near Cowan on April 13, 1847. He attended the public schools and Bucknell University.

Legal and business career He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1870 and commenced practice in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and was an instrumental figure in the creation of various public utilities in Pennsylvania. He was president of the Union National Bank of Lewisburg.

After leaving Congress, he resumed real estate activities in Wildwood.

Personal life and death Baker's daughter Katharine (18761919) was a leading suffragist who died from illness contracted during World War I. He died shortly after her. Baker and his wife had at least four daughters, including Katharine Baker, a leading suffragist, lawyer, magazine writer, and corporal in the French Army during World War I. Katherine Baker died on September 23, 1919 following a physical breakdown from pleurisy and pneumonia she contracted during the war.

Baker died of uremia in at St. Agnes's Hospital in Philadelphia on December 7, 1919, shortly after the death of his daughter Katherine. He was interred in Cold Spring Presbyterian Cemetery in Cold Spring, New Jersey.

Baker's home, the J. Thompson Baker House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.