J. N. L. Baker

Who was J. N. L. Baker?

John Norman Leonard Baker was a geographer associated with Jesus College, Oxford for nearly sixty years.

Born in Liverpool, Baker studied at Liverpool College from 1911 to 1913 before entering Jesus College as an exhibitioner in 1913, where he read Modern History. His undergraduate career was interrupted by the First World War, during which he was wounded on the Somme. He married Phyllis Hancock in 1917 whilst convalescing. He then spent two years in the Indian Army. He returned to Oxford and completed his history degree in 1920 before switching to geography. He obtained the diploma in geography in 1921 and a B.Litt. in 1922. From 1922 to 1923 he was a lecturer at Bedford College, London before being appointed as a member of staff of the Oxford University School of Geography. He was initially assistant to the Reader and librarian, before becoming a lecturer in 1927 and reader in 1933. He was influential in the arrangements for the creation of the geography undergraduate degree at Oxford, which started in 1932, and was disappointed not to be appointed professor.