# John Blair Jr. *American Founding Father and Associate Justice of the first Supreme Court of the United States (1732–1800)* John Blair Jr. (April 17, 1732 – August 31, 1800) signed the United States Constitution as a delegate from Virginia. George Washington named him an Associate Justice when the first U.S. Supreme Court was constituted.[^1] He practised law in Virginia from 1757 and represented the College of William and Mary in the House of Burgesses while his father sat on the Governor's Council. He later gave up his local practice for a series of colonial offices.[^1] Before the Revolutionary War he served as a commissioner of admiralty, enforcing regulations issued by the Virginia Revolutionary Conventions. He then sat on the committee that prepared the Virginia Declaration of Rights and the Virginia Constitution of 1776.[^1] After more than a year on the Council of State, he became a judge of the General Court, the new Commonwealth's first appellate court. He also sat on the High Court of Chancery, a forerunner of the Virginia Court of Appeals, which is now the Virginia Supreme Court.[^1] The Wikipedia article describes him as among the best-trained jurists of his time and as a respected legal scholar who stayed out of the turmoil of state politics.[^1] ## Early life and education Blair was born in 1732 in Williamsburg, in the Colony of Virginia. He was the fourth child and eldest surviving son of Mary (Monro) Blair (1708–1768) and John Blair, a merchant and politician. Accounts give the family ten or twelve children.[^2] His father sat in both houses of the colonial legislature: first in the House of Burgesses, then for decades on the Governor's Council. He also served on four occasions as acting royal governor.[^2] His paternal grandfather, the emigrant Dr. Archibald Blair, had also been a burgess. Archibald's brother, Rev. James Blair, was the subject's great-uncle; he founded the College of William & Mary, served as its first president, and left much of his estate to Blair's father.[^2] His maternal grandfather was Rev. John Monro of St. John's Parish, King William County.[^2] Like his father, Blair studied at William & Mary and took a Bachelor of Arts in 1754. In 1755 he went to London to read law at the Middle Temple.[^2] ## Career ### Colonial offices On his return Blair was admitted to the Virginia bar in 1757. Shortly after the French and Indian War ended, he won election to the seat in the House of Burgesses reserved for the College of William and Mary; the source dates that service 1766–1799.[^3] From 1770 to 1780 he was clerk of the Governor's Council, the upper house of the colonial legislature.[^3] In the dispute with Parliament he first stood with the moderate wing of the Patriot cause and opposed Patrick Henry's resolutions against the Stamp Act. The source states that the dissolution of the House of Burgesses changed his position.[^3] In 1770, and again in 1774, he worked with George Washington and others on nonimportation agreements. Those agreements committed their supporters to stop importing British goods until Parliament repealed its taxes on the colonies.[^3] In 1775, after Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts, he joined the calls for a Continental Congress and pledged support to the people of Boston.[^3] ### Revolution and state judiciary Once the Revolution began, Blair sat in the convention that wrote Virginia's 1776 constitution. He was also a member of its Committee of 28, which framed the Declaration of Rights and the plan of government.[^3] From 1776 to 1778 he served on the Privy Council, the principal advisory body to Governor Patrick Henry.[^3] In 1778 the legislature chose him as a judge of the General Court, and soon afterward as its chief justice. In 1780 it elected him to the High Court of Chancery.[^3] ### Constitutional Convention and Supreme Court At the Constitutional Convention, Blair supported his fellow Virginian James Madison. The Wikipedia article describes him as committed to a permanent union of the newly independent states.[^1] He signed the Constitution for Virginia, and Washington appointed him to the first Supreme Court as an Associate Justice.[^1] The source credits him with influencing the Court's interpretation of the Constitution in a number of important decisions, without naming them in the retrieved text. It reports that contemporaries praised his ability to reach the core of legal questions, as well as his gentleness and benevolence.[^1] ## Freemasonry Blair was a Past Master of Williamsburg Lodge. That lodge petitioned for the convention that organized the first Grand Lodge of Virginia.[^4] The convention first met in 1777. On October 13, 1778, at Williamsburg, Blair was elected the first Grand Master of Freemasons in Virginia.[^4] ## Personal life Blair's wife, Jean Balfour Blair, was his cousin.[^5] ## Death and legacy Blair died at Williamsburg on August 31, 1800, and was buried in the Bruton Parish Churchyard there.[^6] Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and in Madison, Wisconsin, are named Blair Street in his honor.[^6] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia contributors, *John Blair Jr.*, lead section (revision 1381913774, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes his dates, Constitution signing, Supreme Court appointment, Virginia offices and judgeships, and reputation as described by the article. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Blair_Jr.> [^2]: Wikipedia contributors, *John Blair Jr.*, section *Early life and education* (revision 1381913774, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes his birth, parents, family, grandparents, great-uncle, and education. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Blair_Jr.> [^3]: Wikipedia contributors, *John Blair Jr.*, section *Career* (revision 1381913774, retrieved 2026-10-26; text truncated in the pack) — establishes his bar admission, Burgesses seat, council clerkship, pre-Revolution positions, convention and committee service, Privy Council, and judicial elections. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Blair_Jr.> [^4]: Wikipedia contributors, *John Blair Jr.*, section *Freemasonry* (revision 1381913774, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes his lodge office and his election as first Grand Master of Virginia on October 13, 1778. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Blair_Jr.> [^5]: Wikipedia contributors, *John Blair Jr.*, section *Personal life* (revision 1381913774, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes his marriage. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Blair_Jr.> [^6]: Wikipedia contributors, *John Blair Jr.*, section *Death and legacy* (revision 1381913774, retrieved 2026-10-26) — establishes his date and place of death, burial, and the streets named for him. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Blair_Jr.>