A. Cornelius Baker, Champion of H.I.V. Testing, Dies at 63
A. Cornelius Baker, who spent nearly 40 years working with urgency and compassion to improve the lives of people with H.I.V.
and AIDS by promoting testing, securing federal funding for research and pushing for a vaccine, died on Nov. 8 at his home in Washington.
He was 63. Gregory Nevins, his companion, said the cause was hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Mr. Baker — who was gay and who tested positive for H.I.V. — became active in Washington in the 1980s, during the early years of the AIDS epidemic.
He soon distinguished himself as an eloquent voice for people with H.I.V. and AIDS. A policy wonk and health-care expert, he held positions in the federal government and with nonprofits, including serving as the head of a clinic for the L.G.B.T.Q.
