Sir Benjamin Baker. Historical portrait of the English civil engineer Sir Benjamin Baker (1840- 1907). Baker was apprenticed at an ironworks when aged 16 before working with John Fowler (later Sir John Fowler) to design the London Underground railway in the 1860s. He formed a partnership with Fowler in 1875 and was the chief designer of the Forth Railway Bridge in Scotland. This 2.4 kilometre long steel structure was revolutionary in its cantilever design. Baker was called in to save the Hudson River Tunnel in New York, USA, from collapse during its construction. He supervised the construction of the old Aswan dam in Egypt. He was knighted in 1890.