William Benjamin Baker

William Benjamin Baker (July 22, 1840 – May 17, 1911) was a U.S. Congressman who represented the second Congressional district of Maryland from 1895 to 1901. He was considered the father of rural mail delivery in the United States.

Early life William Benjamin Baker was born on July 22, 1840, near Aberdeen, Maryland, to Elizabeth (née Greenland) and George W. Baker. He was one of fifteen children, including Sarah R., George A., Lydia C., James B., Charles W., John H., Susie E., Alice C. and George A. His father was a canner in Aberdeen. He attended the common schools and was privately tutored. He remained on the family's homestead until he was 32 years old. His nephew Frank E. Baker was a state delegate. His uncle was John H. Baker, a state delegate and preacher.

Career In 1872, Baker and his brother Charles W. started a canning factory in Aberdeen. They ran the factory until 1876, when the building was destroyed by a fire. He then erected another cannery on a farm in Aberdeen and a cannery in Odessa, Delaware.

He served as a delegate to several state and congressional conventions. He first ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in 1875, but was defeated by Murray Vandiver. He became a member of the House of Delegates in 1881, defeating Vandiver. He served in 1882 and in 1883, he was defeated for re-election. In 1889, he ran for Maryland Senate, but lost by a margin of 550 votes. He was elected to the Maryland Senate in 1893, after his brother John H. Baker withdrew his nomination and defeating Thomas H. Robinson, but only served from 1894 to 1895.

Baker was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth, Fifty-fifth, and Fifty-sixth Congresses, serving from March 4, 1895, to March 3, 1901.

He was not a candidate for renomination in 1900, and resumed the canning business. He died on May 17, 1911, in Aberdeen, following a fall a few days prior. He was interred in Baker's Cemetery, the family burial ground, in Aberdeen.