John Baker or Jon Baker may refer to:

Military figures[link]

• John Baker (American Revolutionary War), American Revolutionary War hero, for whom Baker County, Georgia was named
• John Baker (RAF officer) (1897–1978), British air marshal
• John Drayton Baker (1915–1942), United States Navy officer
• John Baker (general) (1936–2007), Australian Chief of the Defence Force, 1995–1998
• John F. Baker, Jr. (1945–2012), Medal of Honor recipient
• John Baker (admiral) (1661–1716), English admiral

Political figures[link]

• John Baker III, MP for Lyme Regis in 1407
• John Baker (English statesman) (1488–1558), Speaker of the House of Commons, 1545–1552
• John Baker (15th century MP) for Devizes in 1421
• John Baker (MP for Bedford) (by 1501–1538) Mayor and MP of Bedford
• John Baker (MP for Canterbury) (c. 1754–1831), MP for Canterbury
• John Baker (representative) (died 1823), United States congressman from Virginia
• John Baker (Baker Brook) (1796–1868), political activist, founded the village of Baker Brook, New Brunswick
• John Baker (Australian politician) (1813–1872), briefly the Premier of South Australia in 1857
• Sir John Baker (Portsmouth politician) (1828–1909), Liberal Member of Parliament for Portsmouth, 1906–1910
• John Baker (UK politician) (1867–1939), British Labour MP for Bilston, 1924–1931
• John Baker (defensive lineman) (1935–2007), professional football player and then sheriff of Wake County, North Carolina
• John Harris Baker (1832–1915), United States congressman
• John Henry Baker (born 1934), Louisiana political candidate
• Sir John Baker, 2nd Baronet (1608–1653), English politician

Sports figures[link]

• John Baker (musher), American dogsled racer
• John Baker (baseball) (born 1981), American baseball player
• John Baker (diver), British diver at the Olympics
• John Baker (footballer), Ghanaian international footballer in squad that won 1982 African Cup for the fourth time
• John Baker (runner) (1944–1970), runner from the University of New Mexico that was invited to run in the Olympics
• Johnny Baker (1907–1979), American football player and coach
• Johnny Baker (born 1941), American football linebacker and tight end
• John Baker (defensive lineman) (1935–2007), professional football player and sheriff of Wake County, North Carolina
• John Baker (punter) (born 1977), American football punter
• John Baker (Canadian football) (John W. Baker, born 1942), Canadian football defensive end
• John Baker (cricketer) (born 1933), former English cricketer

Others[link]

• John Baker (biologist) (1900–1984), biologist and professor at Oxford University remembered for his study of race
• John Baker, Baron Baker (1901–1985), engineer
• John A. Baker, Jr. (born 1927), U.S. diplomat
• John Baker (author) (born 1942), British novelist
• John Baker, British musician and member of The Korgis
• John Baker (NZ music historian), New Zealand music historian
• John Baker (Radiophonic musician) (1937–1997), composer and musician at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop (1963–1974)
• John Baker (legal historian) (born 1944), English legal historian, Downing Professor of the Laws of England, University of Cambridge
• John Gilbert Baker (1834–1920), British botanist
• John Henry Baker (professor) (born 1936), American author and professor Emeritus of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA
• J. N. L. Baker (John Norman Leonard Baker, 1893–1971), Fellow in Geography at Jesus College, Oxford
• John Roman Baker (born 1944), playwright and activist
• John Baker (entrepreneur) (born 1976), President of Desire2Learn
• John Baker (bishop), Bishop of Salisbury, 1982–1993
• John Gilbert Baker (bishop), former bishop of Anglican Diocese of Hong Kong and Macau
• John Baker (artist) (1726–1771), English flower painter
• John Wynn Baker (died 1775), economist
• John Baker (rector) (died 1745), vice-master of Trinity College, Cambridge

See also[link]

• Jack Baker (disambiguation)
• Jon Baker (American football) (1923–1992), American football linebacker
• Jon Baker (placekicker) (born 1972), American football placekicker
• Jon Baker (producer) (born 1960), music industry executive
• Jon Baker, musician, member of The Charlatans
• Jon Baker, fictional character in the TV show CHiPs

This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Bill John Baker is Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, elected in October 2011.^[1] He was repeatedly re-elected to the Tribal Council, where he served 12 years. He is a businessman and has been active in community affairs.

Background[link]

Bill John Baker was born in Cherokee County, Oklahoma, where his family has been for four generations. Of mixed ethnicity like many Cherokee citizens, he is 1/32 Cherokee by blood.^[2] He graduated from Tahlequah High School. In 1972, he graduated from Northeastern State University with a bachelor's degree in political science and history in education.^[3]

Career[link]

Soon after that, he had an opportunity to take over a furniture store. Although a novice, he worked at every job to keep it going. He built it into a growing business known as Baker's Furniture.^[4] He also owns several rental properties in Tahlequah.^[5]

As his business matured, Baker became more active in the community, serving as the president of the PTA, a coach for youth sports, and a charter member of the Rotary Club. Elected as president of the Tahlequah area Chamber of Commerce, he pulled the organization out of debt during his tenure.

Politics[link]

Baker became active in politics. He served 12 years as a member of the Cherokee Nation Tribal Council. He has supported educational and development initiatives for Cherokee, as well as health care.

In 1997, Baker was among the supporters of Joe Byrd, then Principal Chief, during some of the tumultuous political events of 1997^[6], when some members boycotted attendance at Council meetings. At one point, the Nation's executive officials' closed the Cherokee Nation Judicial Appeals Tribunal.^[7] Byrd was investigated for financial improprieties.

In 1999, Baker ran for deputy chief as a running mate of Joe Byrd. In an extremely close race, Baker was defeated by Hasting Shade, with 3,579 votes to Shade's 3,533 votes.^[8]

In 2011, Baker ran for Cherokee Nation principal chief against the 12-year incumbent Chad Smith. Because the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court could not determine the outcome of the June 26 general election with mathematical certainty, it set a second election for Sept. 24, 2011.^[9] The date for absentee ballots was extended to allow for voting by Cherokee Freedmen, based on a negotiated agreement with the federal government. The membership of many in the tribe and ability to vote in elections has been under dispute since the tribe (exclusive of the Freedmen) voted to tighten membership qualifications.^[10]

Baker won the special election.^[1] Nearly 20,000 people voted in the special election in September, 5,000 more than had voted in the first one. Baker won by 1,534 votes with nearly 54 percent of the vote.^[10] By agreement between the federal government and the tribe in a negotiated decision, Cherokee Freedmen were allowed to vote in this election, although the question of their membership in the tribe is still unresolved. The Nation changed its membership rules to exclude all except those who are descended directly from Cherokee Indians listed on the Dawes Rolls, which excludes some Freedmen, even those of Cherokee descent, whose ancestors were listed on the Rolls only as Freedmen.^[10] (See [Cherokee Freedmen controversy]])

Personal[link]

Baker married Susan Elizabeth "Beth" Hulcher on August 1, 1977. The couple had three daughters and two sons. She died on April 28, 1995.

He married Sherry Jean Robertson,^[11] and the couple live in Tahlequah. He is a member of the Baptist Church.^[12]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Legislation Sponsored by Bill John Baker