Baird was born in Derry, Ireland, in 1817. In 1821, at the age of four, his parents brought him to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Baird was educated in the public schools of Philadelphia and, at an early age, secured a position as assistant to one of the professors of chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. During that position, he acquired "valuable training and technical knowledge that was of the utmost use to him in his future business career."
Career
Baird went to work for the nascent railroad industry in the 1830s. He started with an apprenticeship at the New Castle Manufacturing Company in Delaware between 1834 and 1836. He then went on to become the superintendent of the Newcastle and Frenchtown Railway shops. He left the N&F to become foreman of the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1838. In this position, he was co-author on a patent for a spark arrestor in 1842 that has since become known as the "French and Baird stack". In 1854, Baird invested in a share of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, becoming a partner. At this time, he developed a new fire arch to improve steam locomotive combustion. The improved fire arch was subsequently patented by George S. Griggs on December 15, 1857. Upon Baldwin's death in 1866, Baird became the sole proprietor of the company. In 1867, he formed a partnership with George Burnham and Charles T. Parry under the firm name of The Baldwin Locomotive Works, M. Baird & Co., Proprietors, which continued until his retirement in 1873. Baird served as a director of the Central National Bank, the Texas Pacific Railroad Company, the Pennsylvania Steel Company, the Andover Iron Company, the West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad Company. He was also one of the incorporators and a director of the American Steamship Company and was a large stockholder of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
Personal life
Baird was twice married. His first wife of Ann Eliza Monroe, a daughter of John Monroe and Mary Ann Monroe. Together, they were the parents of:
William H. Baird
Walter Thomas Baird, who married Esther Evans Peterson in 1876.
Mary Louise Baird, who married Dr. Edward Oram Shakespeare, a prominent opthalmic surgeon, in 1889.
After the death of his first wife in 1863, he remarried to Anna Wright on June 1, 1871. Anna was a daughter of politician and landowner Benjamin Franklin Wright and Margaretta Miller Wright. Together, they were the parents of:
