born Dec. 3, 1871, Martinsburg, W.Va., U.S.
died Dec. 25, 1937, Cleveland, Ohio
U.S. secretary of war.
He practiced law in Martinsburg from 1897. After moving to Cleveland, he was elected mayor (191216). He helped obtain the 1912 Democratic presidential nomination for Woodrow Wilson , who appointed him secretary of war (191621). Although he was a pacifist, Baker developed a plan for the military draft and oversaw the mobilization of more than four million men during World War I. In 1928 he was appointed to the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague.