Alfred Bird registered as a pharmacist in Birmingham in 1842, having served an apprenticeship to Phillip Harris of that city.

[6] Bird was not content to revolutionise custard but went on to invent a baking powder in 1843 so he could make yeast-free bread for his wife.

In addition to practising as an analytical and consulting chemist at Birmingham, he devoted considerable attention to physics and meteorology.

In the course of his investigations into the laws of sound, he constructed a beautiful set of harmonized glass bowls, extending over five octaves, which he used to play with much skill.

He was well known for his originality and as the inventor of several useful appliances.His son, Alfred Frederick Bird, continued the work of his father.