On June 27, Nick Baker, a PhD candidate in the Department of History, and one of St. Michael’s College’s first junior fellows (2021-22), passed away suddenly. Nick had been suffering from Crohn’s disease for some time and had taken a leave from his studies for a year to manage his illness.
Nick’s intellectual and spiritual life were important to him. Having completed his undergraduate and Master’s degrees at Kings College and Dalhousie University, respectively, Nick joined the Department of History in 2019 under the supervision of SMC Fellow Prof. Mark McGowan. Another SMC Fellow, Prof. David Wilson, was also on Nick’s Committee. His Master’s work at Dalhousie University, in his hometown of Halifax, focused on politics and paramilitary activities in what became the independent nation of Zimbabwe.
At the University of Toronto, Nick wanted to apply his work on paramilitaries on a much broader scale, examining international networks that assisted the Ulster Volunteer Force in Ireland during the period 1912 to 1923. International aid to Irish Republicanism has been well studied, but Nick wanted to explore the global assistance rendered to the forces promoting Unionism within the United Kingdom. Ireland was but one laboratory in which Nick was examining the reach of imperial networks that sustained “loyalist” militancy. His dissertation topic pointed broadly to trans-national studies in paramilitary activities in specific regions, and the engagement of these groups with broader global financial and military networks.
Nick cherished his time as a junior fellow at St. Mike’s. One of the draws of the College for him was the manner in which intellectual and social life was engaged by spiritual values. The “big questions” could be posed in a welcoming environment. He worked on the annual conference, was a regular in college events and lectures, and could be seen from time-to-time with his supervisor at lunch in the College dining room. Nick will be greatly mourned by his fellow graduate students, faculty members, family, and friends. He was laid to rest on July 4th in his beloved Halifax. May he rest in peace.
Dr. Mark G McGowan, FRSC
Professor & Principal Emeritus