Edmund J. Baillie

Edmund John Baillie (4 May 1851 – 18 October 1897) was a Welsh businessman, horticulturalist and vegetarianism activist.

Edmund J. Baillie
Born	4 May 1851 Hawarden
Died	18 October 1897 Chester
Occupation	Horticulturalist

Biography

Baillie was born in Hawarden on 4 May 1851.^[1] As a young man, Baillie worked at the firm F. and A. Dickson and Sons of Eastgate, Chester where he eventually became its adviser and partner.^[2] On the amalgamation of Dickson's two firms, he became deputy Chairman of Dicksons, Limited.^[3]

Baillie was a friend of John Ruskin and was President of the John Ruskin Society in Liverpool.^[3][4] He was honorary secretary and treasurer of the Grosvenor Museum at Chester and a member of the Chester Society of Natural Science. He was a member of the Royal Horticultural Society.^[3] He was elected for the Linnean Society of London on 21 June 1878 and became a Fellow in 1883.^[3] He specialized in fruit trees.^[4] Baillie corresponded with Walt Whitman.^[4][5]

He contributed to the Gardener's Magazine, Journal of Botany, Journal of Horticulture, Cottage Gardener and the Proceedings of the Linnean Society.^[1] For his services to natural science he was awarded the Kingsley Memorial Medal.^[2] Baillie was a Presbyterian and was church secretary at the English Presbyterian Church of Wales, Chester for many years.^[2] He was a spiritualist and member of the London Spiritualist Alliance.^[6]

He died on 18 October 1897 in Chester.^[1]

Vegetarianism

Baillie was a vegetarian. He joined the Vegetarian Society in 1878 and later served as a Vice-President.^[7] Baillie authored papers in defence of vegetarianism that were read at conferences such as the International Vegetarian Congress.^[2][8]

Selected publications

• John Ruskin: Aspects of His Thought and Teachings (1882)
• The Importance of British Fruit Growing From a Food Point of View (1896)

References

1. Desmond, Ray. (1994). Dictionary Of British And Irish Botanists And Horticulturalists. Taylor & Francis. p. 34. ISBN 0-85066-843-3
2. "Death of Mr. E. J. Baillie". The Chester Courant and Advertiser for North Wales (October 20, 1897). p. 5
3. "Edmund John Baillie". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. 110: 34. 1898.
4. "Edmund J. Baillie to Walt Whitman, 17 September 1890". The Walt Whitman Archive. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
5. "Edmund J. Baillie to Walt Whitman, 19 January 1891". The Walt Whitman Archive. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
6. "Decease of Mr. Edmund J. Baillie" (PDF). Light. 17 (876): 517. 1897.
7. Forward, Charles W. (1898). Fifty Years of Food Reform: A History of the Vegetarian Movement in England. London: The Ideal Publishing Union. p. 183
8. "The International Vegetarian Congress". International Vegetarian Union. Retrieved 20 November 2021.