Blair, John
| Dates | c.1757-1782 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | London | ||
| Vocation | Clergy | ||
| Place of Birth | Edinburgh | ||
| Marriage | |||
| Issue | |||
| Place of birth | Source | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography |
Born and educated in Edinburgh Blair trained for career in the Church of Scotland. He was granted a license to preach in Scotland but before taking up a post visited London with a patrimony of several hundred pounds. Whilst there he took orders in the Church of England. In September 1757 Blair was appointed chaplain to Augusta, the princess-dowager of Wales and as the maths tutor to her son, Prince Edward, who Blair subsequently served as secretary. This connection led to his appointment as prebendary of Westminster in March 1761, later followed by the presentation of the dean and chapter of Westminster to the vicarage of Hinckley, to the vicarage of St Bride's, London, in 1771, and to the rectory of St John the Evangelist, Westminster, in 1776 and rector of Horton in Buckinghamshire. Blair died in Dean’s Yard, Westminster on 24 June 1782. In addition to ecclesiastical career he published 'Proposals for Printing by Subscription, the General Chronology and History of the World' in 1754. A second edition appeared in 1768 with 14 additional maps and ‘A dissertation on the rise and progress of geography’. Blair was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1755.
