John Blair

Biography

John Blair was born into an influential Virginia family in 1732. His father had served as a colonial official and his uncle, James Blair, was the founder and inaugural president of the College of William and Mary. John attended this college and then went abroad to London to study law. When he returned to Williamsburg, he established his law practice and soon went into government. He served in the House of Burgesses as the representative of his local alma mater.

Blair became an active opponent of British policy in the 1770s. In the 1760s, he had found Patrick Henry’s inflammatory denunciations of the Stamp Act too radical, but by the 1770s, his moderation was replaced by patriotic outrage. In 1770, he signed the Virginia Association, formed to boycott British goods, and then in 1774 he joined in the call for a meeting of the colonies in a Continental Congress. In 1776, he took part in Virginia’s own constitutional convention and helped compose a declaration of rights for the new state. In 1778, he was chosen by the Virginia legislature to serve as a judge of the General Court, soon becoming its chief justice. In 1780, he was elected to the high chancery court, serving along with the most respected of Virginia’s lawyers, George Wythe.

Blair was 55 when he was sent to Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention in 1787. William Pierce praised him as one of the most respected men in Virginia and as a man who had “a very extensive knowledge of the Laws.” He considered Blair a poor orator but was confident that Blair’s good sense and excellent principles would compensate for other deficiencies. Blair was apparently aware of his shortcomings as a speaker for he never spoke a word during the Convention debates. He seemed to avoid participation even in smaller groups for he did not agree to serve on any of the Convention’s many committees. He sided with his colleagues from Virginia on the majority of issues that arose. Blair’s reticence carried over into the Virginia ratifying convention, although he worked behind the scenes to ensure a positive vote.

In 1789, President Washington named John Blair as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Blair served until 1796 when a persistent illness forced him to resign. According to Blair he suffered from “a rattling, distracting noise” in his head that made it difficult to concentrate. Modern medicine suggests this might have been tinnitus, which is often described as a ringing in the ear but can also present as a buzzing, roaring, or hissing noise.

Blair returned to his home in Williamsburg in the Fall of 1795. He lived quietly and comfortably for five years, without any mention of the noise in his head that had so plagued him during his judgeship. He died at the age of 68 in 1800. In eulogies, Blair was remembered for his mildness, gravity, and piety, and for a striking absence of fanaticism in his belief.