Priscilla Baird (1828-1904) was a pioneering teacher in Missouri and Illinois and an advocate for girls' education. She began her career in Shelbyville, Missouri in 1851. She then taught at Liberty Female College and Lancaster schools before relocating to Illinois during the civil war and teaching at the Springfield High School. Returning to Missouri, she taught at Ingleside College in Palmyra, Missouri and at Hardin College in Mexico, Missouri. After completing nearly thirty years of teaching, she founded the Baird College in 1885, where she remained until her retirement in 1897.