Captain Francis Joseph Bayldon
1872-1948
Captain Bayldon was the son of the Reverend J Wood Bayldon, who held an MA from the University of Cambridge. Captain Francis Joseph Bayldon went to sea as a cadet officer in October 1887 in the Devitt & Moore passenger ships RODNEY, HARBINGER and ILLAWARRA, sailing to Australia.
In 1898 Bayldon was commissioned in the Royal Naval Reserve and was promoted lieutenant in 1907. He retired from the merchant service in 1910, and opened the Sydney Nautical Academy.
Throughout his career, Bayldon was published by both the British Astronomical Association and the American Lick Observatory for his work on the zodiacal light. His treatise "Handling steamships during hurricanes on the east coast of Queensland" was published in 1913 and highly commended. Bayldon continued to contribute to journals and publications and remained active in a variety of societies until his death in 1948, which heralded the passing of an era.
Nan Phillips, 'Bayldon, Francis Joseph (1872 - 1948)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 7, Melbourne University Press, 1979, pp 217-218.
Person TypeIndividual
