Textiles manufacturer and benefactor. Born in Dundee, he joined his father, William Baxter (1767 - 1854), and brothers in the linen manufacturing company Baxter Brothers, which through the introduction of innovative weaving technology, grew to become one of the largest producers in the world, known also as notable jute spinners.
Baxter was a generous benefactor giving the Albert Institute (which houses the Dundee Museum and Art Gallery) and Baxter Park to Dundee, and endowing a Chair in Engineering at the University of Edinburgh (1868). He also left money to establish the Dundee Technical Institute, and to the Free Church of Scotland. He was appointed a Burgess of Dundee in 1817, served as a President of the Dundee Chamber of Commerce (1848-49) and was knighted in 1863 by Queen Victoria on the recommendation of Lord Palmerston.
He built and lived at Kilmaron Castle (Fife), where he died after suffering a stroke in Edinburgh. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth, but the couple had no family.