Baker, Hugh Potter (20 January 1878–24 May 1950), forester and university administrator, was born in St. Croix Falls, Polk County, Wisconsin, the son of Joseph Stannard Baker, a land agent, and Alice Potter. His father was financially successful, and Baker grew up in surroundings that were physically comfortable and culture-filled. Both of his parents having attended college, Baker received his early schooling locally before entering Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he remained a year before transferring to Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University). He graduated with a B.S. in 1901, having also begun work in partnership with his brother, Fred Baker, in a part-time position at the federal Division of Forestry. This division, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was then run by pioneer forester and future governor of Pennsylvania ...
