John Earl Baker was born on August 23, 1880, near Whitewater, Wisconsin. He received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and later earned an M.A. in railroad engineering at George Washington University. After finishing his education, he pursued his interest in railroads, first accepting a job with the Interstate Railway Commission, and subsequently working for the Southern Pacific Railroad in California. While working for the Southern Pacific, however, he accepted a job on the faculty of the University of Michigan.
In 1916 Baker left his position at the University of Michigan and began working for the Ministry of Communications in China. This first post led to many other appointments in China. In 1920 he transferred to Famine Relief, an agency of the Red Cross, and then in 1929 he became advisor to the United States Famine Relief Commission. Between 1922 and 1929 Baker worked on a book about China. Titled Explaining China, it was published in 1927, and received both public and critical acclaim. Baker took over the National Food Relief in 1931, and he held this post until 1937 when he was called on by the Chinese government to help them with the Yunnan-Burma highway. As director of the Yunnan-Burma highway from 1937 to 1942, Baker helped the Chinese improve transportation lines which were vital to China's existence.
Baker returned to the United States in 1942 and assisted in the orientation of American soldiers who were being sent to Japan and China. In 1945 he was again called into service for China, this time with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency. His final post in China was an appointment by President Truman in 1948 to the Joint Committee on Relief and Rehabilitation. Baker retired in 1951, and he died in 1957 at his home in Mill Valley, California.
