Edmund J. Baillie | |
|---|---|
 Portrait fromFifty Years of Food Reform (1898) | |
| Born | Edmund John Baillie (1851-05-04)4 May 1851 Hawarden, England |
| Died | 18 October 1897(1897-10-18) (aged 46) Chester, England |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, horticulturalist, activist |
| Awards | Kingsley Memorial Medal |
Edmund John BaillieFRHS FLS (4 May 1851 – 18 October 1897) was a Welsh businessman,horticulturalist andvegetarianism activist.
Edmund John Baillie was born inHawarden 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 ofJohn Ruskin and was President of the John Ruskin Society inLiverpool.[3][4] He was honorary secretary and treasurer of theGrosvenor Museum at Chester and a member of the Chester Society of Natural Science. He was a member of theRoyal Horticultural Society[3] and was later a Fellow.[5] He was elected for theLinnean Society of London on 21 June 1878 and became a Fellow in 1883.[3] Baillie specialised in fruit trees.[4] He also corresponded withWalt Whitman.[4][6]
Baille contributed to theGardener's Magazine,Journal of Botany,Journal of Horticulture,Cottage Gardener and theProceedings 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 theEnglish Presbyterian Church of Wales, Chester for many years.[2] He was aspiritualist and member of theLondon Spiritualist Alliance.[7]
Baillie died on 18 October 1897 inChester.[1]
Baillie was avegetarian. He joined theVegetarian Society in 1878 and later served as a Vice-President.[8] Baillie authored papers in defence of vegetarianism that were read at conferences such as theInternational Vegetarian Congress.[2][9] In 1885, Baiillie wrote inThe Dietetic Reformer about vegetarianrennet made from the berries ofWithania coagulans.[10] He served on the General Council of theOrder of the Golden Age in 1897.[11]
