Baer, George Frederick

Baer, George Frederick

George Frederick Baer was born September 26, 1842, near Lavansville, Pennsylvania. Baer was educated at Franklin and Marshall College, where he received an honorary master of arts degree in 1875 and a doctor of laws degree in 1886.

During the Civil War, Baer fought on the side of the Union at Bull Run, Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Fredericksburg.

He was admitted to the bar in 1864, moved to Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1868, and in 1870 performed the duties of counselor for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company. He became a director of the railroad, acted as legal advisor to magnate J. P. Morgan, and was instrumental in the restructuring of the railroad in 1893. In 1901, he was president of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway Company, the Philadelphia and Reading Coal & Iron Company, and the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey.

When the United Mine Workers went on strike in Pennsylvania in 1902, Baer gained notoriety for his lack of sympathy for the plight of the miners.

Baer died April 26, 1914, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.