SIR BENJAMIN BAKER. 781 



for many years connected with great engineering works in Egypt. 

 He was also consulted in the design and construction of railways and 

 other engineering works in West Africa and other colonies, and in the 

 construction of docks and bridges in England. 



The two greatest works, with which his name will forever be asso- 

 ciated, are the Forth Bridge in Scotland, and the Assuan Dam in 

 Egypt. 



The Forth Bridge, in its present form, owes its conception and design 

 to him, who worked it out upon scientific principles with the greatest 

 care. This bridge possessed for many years the longest span in the 

 world, which is now only surpassed (and by only 90 feet) by the re- 

 cently constructed bridge across the St. Lawrence at Quebec. 



Mr. Baker was undoubtedly one of the greatest engineers that Eng- 

 land or the world has e^er produced. The great variety of his work, 

 the care with which he studied and worked out the various problems 

 upon which he was called to advise, the combination of experience, 

 judgment, and scientific knowledge which he possessed, made him a 

 tower of strength, upon which those who consulted him could rely 

 with confidence. He was an honorary member of the American and 

 Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, and of the iVmerican Societ^y of 

 Mechanical Engineers; and in 1895 was President of the British 

 Institution of Civil Engineers. He became a Foreign Honorary 

 Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1899. 

 His name and works will not be forgotten. He did much for humanity, 

 education, and the engineering profession, and to prove to the world 

 that the development of civilization depends largely upon the work of 

 the engineer. 



G. F. Swain. 



