History

Behind the first residential college on Rice University...

Baker was established as one of the four original residential colleges at Rice in the fall of 1957. It was named in honor of Captain James Addison Baker (1857-1941) who served as the Rice Institute's first Chairman of the Board of Trustees from June 24, 1891, until his death.

Captain James A. Baker

Our college is named after Captain James Addison Baker, grandfather of former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III, and the hero who saved Rice University before it even existed. It happened on September 23, 1900, when William Marsh Rice, the reclusive millionaire who had left his fortune for the endowment of a center for higher education in Houston, was chloroformed by his butler, Charles F. Jones, in his Madison Avenue apartment.

The mastermind behind Rice's suspicious death was Albert T. Patrick, a New York attorney, who had forged a will naming himself as the principal beneficiary of the estate. After preparing the fake will, Patrick plotted with Jones to murder Rice when it became obvious that the old man was not going to die of natural causes anytime soon. After weeks of lacing Rice's food with mercury, and then a further failed attempt at poisoning him (Rice complained that the "medicine" was too bitter and spit it out), Jones finally committed the murder with a chloroform-soaked sponge.

Had Patrick's plan succeeded, there would have been no Rice Institute for the Advancement of Letters, Science, and Art. However, Captain Baker, who acted as Rice's attorney in Houston, began an intensive investigation upon hearing about the suspicious nature of Rice's death. Through his efforts, the forged will was revealed. Jones eventually confessed to the killing, and the endowment for the Rice Institute reached the right hands.

Captain Baker went on to oversee the creation of what is now Rice University and served as the first Chairman of the Board of Trustees until his death in 1941. For his invaluable role in the founding of the university, the best college on campus was named after him. If he were here today, we think Captain James A. Baker would be as proud of this college as we are. So, act superior - somebody has to be the best.