James Addison Baker Jr. was an American lawyer, banker, real-estate developer, and United States Army officer from Houston. A partner in the family law firm Baker Botts, he served in World War I, helped develop Houston’s Broadacres neighborhood, and held leadership roles in banking, petroleum, real estate, and civic organizations.
Background
James Addison Baker Jr. was born in Houston, Texas, on November 3, 1892, to attorney and banker James A. Baker and Alice Graham Baker. He was part of a prominent Houston family whose legal and civic activities were closely associated with the development of the city and with the firm that became Baker Botts. His father was a partner in the family law practice, and his grandfather, Captain James A. Baker, had helped establish the family’s long-standing professional and civic presence in Texas. Baker married Bonner Means on August 4, 1917; their children included James Addison Baker III and Bonner Means Baker.
Education
Baker graduated from The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, in 1911 and entered Princeton University that year. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton in 1915. He then studied law at the University of Texas and earned a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1917. His legal education was interrupted by his World War I military service, after which he returned to Houston and entered the family law practice.
Career
Baker built a career that combined law, banking, real-estate development, petroleum finance, and civic administration. After completing his legal education and serving in World War I, he joined the Houston law firm Baker Botts, continuing the family’s legal tradition, and eventually became a partner. He remained associated with the firm for much of his professional life. In Houston’s business community, he served as president of Graham Realty Company, chairman of Texas National Bank, and president of Trinity Petroleum Trust. With his father, he helped develop Broadacres, a planned residential subdivision near Rice University that became one of Houston’s notable early twentieth-century neighborhoods. He also served as treasurer of the Houston Chamber of Commerce. During World War I, he served in the United States Army with the 359th Infantry Regiment of the 90th Division, saw combat on the Western Front, including the St. Mihiel and Verdun sectors, and attained the rank of captain.
Achievements
Served as a United States Army captain with the 359th Infantry Regiment of the 90th Division during World War I and saw combat on the Western Front, including the St. Mihiel and Verdun sectors.
Helped develop Broadacres, a planned residential subdivision in Houston, Texas, in association with his father.
Continued the Baker family’s legal tradition as a partner in the Houston law firm Baker Botts.
Membership
Baker participated extensively in Houston’s legal, civic, business, educational, and social organizations. He was a director of the English-Speaking Union and a past director and treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce. He belonged to Houston bar associations, the Ex-Students’ Association of the University of Texas, Phi Delta Theta, and the Eagle Lake Rod and Gun Club. His other documented club affiliations included River Oaks Country Club, Houston Country Club, and the Houston Club.
Director.
English-Speaking Union
Past director and treasurer.
Chamber of Commerce
American
Houston bar associations
Ex-Students’ Association of the University of Texas
Eagle Lake Rod and Gun Club
River Oaks Country Club
Houston Country Club
Houston.
Houston Club
Phi Delta Theta
Interests
Hunting and membership in sporting and country clubs, including the Eagle Lake Rod and Gun Club.
Connections
Baker was the son of Houston attorney and banker James A. Baker and Alice Graham Baker and the father of James Addison Baker III, who later became a United States secretary of state, secretary of the treasury, and White House chief of staff. His marriage to Bonner Means connected him to the Means family of Texas. Baker, his father, and his son formed three successive generations associated with the Baker family’s Houston legal tradition and with Baker Botts.
Father:
James A. Baker
His father was a Houston attorney, banker, and partner in the family law firm.
