Baldwin, Loammi

Baldwin, Loammi (1745–1807) engineer, soldier, judge; born in Woburn, Mass. A self-educated cabinetmaker, land surveyor, and civil engineer, he used to walk from Woburn to Cambridge to hear lectures on mathematics at Harvard. An opponent of British rule, he fought briefly in the American Revolution, achieving the rank of colonel. He represented Woburn in the Massachusetts legislature (1778–79, 1800–04) and was high sheriff of Middlesex County. He was the chief engineer of the Middlesex Canal that joined Massachusetts' Merrimack and Charles Rivers (1794–1804). He also developed from grafts a hardy variety of apple that is named for him.