Dr. John Baker Edwards was born on December 27, 1826, in Watford, Hertfordshire, England.

He was a chemist. He was educated at Stockwell Grammar School and in 1841, he apprenticed at the firm of Kendall of Stratford, the producers of botanicals. Then he pursued pharmaceutical studies in London. In 1846, he graduated and became a lecture assistant and general assistant in the Pharmaceutical Laboratory. In 1848, he entered the business as an operative chemist for the supply of chemicals for educational and analytical purposes to students and professors. In 1854, he was appointed lecturer on chemistry and toxicology at the Royal Infirmary School of Medicine, Liverpool. He founded Liverpool Chemists Association and became its first secretary and president. He was a member of the board of examiners of the Pharmaceutical Society. In 1866, he moved to Canada where he lectured on chemistry at McGill Normal School, at Bishop College Medical Faculty and he assisted with the foundation of the Montreal College of Pharmacy. He was also secretary of the Natural History Society. In 1876, he was appointed "Food Analyst" by the Dominion Government, a post he retained until his death in 1900. He was a life member of the British Association, Pharmaceutical Society, and Chemical Society of London. He also obtained a reputation as a decipher of handwriting which frequently brought him into the law courts as an expert witness.

He died on January 15, 1900, in Montreal, Quebec.