Baird, William

Baird was a Scottish Zoologist and physician. He was best known for his 1850 work, The Natural History of British Entomostraca.

Baird studied at the High School of Edinburgh, before studying medicine at the universities of Edinburgh, Dublin and Paris. He was a surgeon for the East India Company from 1823 to 1833, travelling to India, China and other countries, and taking a keen interest in those countries' natural history. He helped found the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club in 1829. Baird practiced as a doctor in London until 1841, when he joined the zoology department of the British Museum (Natural History).