Born: 26-Sep-1842
Birthplace: Lavansville, PA
Died: 26-Apr-1914
Location of death: Philadelphia, PA
Cause of death: unspecified

Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Business

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Social Darwinist railroad baron

Military service: Union Army (133rd Penn. Volunteers, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville)

Counsel for J. Pierpont Morgan, and served under him in numerous positions. Became counsel of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Co. in 1870, and President of that railroad in 1901, as well as Temple Iron Co., an anthracite mining concern. During a United Mine Workers strike of 1902, Baer refused negotiation with the anthracite miners, citing socially-Darwinist moral reasons that bordered on divine right. The ensuing publicity turned Baer into a temporary icon of arrogance.

Father: Maj. Solomon Baer

    High School: Somerset Academy
    University: Franklin and Marshall College (attended 1860-61)
    Professor: President, Franklin and Marshall College (1894-1914)

    German Ancestry

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