James Blair

James Blair (1656 – 18 April 1743) was a Scottish-born clergyman in the Church of England. He was also a missionary and an educator, best known as the founder of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Youth and education James Blair was born Scotland, possibly in Edinburgh or in Banffshire. His parents were Peter Blair, minister of St Cuthbert's, Edinburgh, and Mary Hamilton Blair. He was educated at Marischal College, University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh, where he received a Master of Arts degree. After completing his education, in 1679 he was ordained in the national Church of Scotland (known officially at this time as the Kirk of Scotland, see kirk). During the entire 17th century the Kirk had been experiencing passionate internal conflicts between Presbyterians and Episcopalians (see, for example, the Bishops' Wars). The Episcopalians were in the ascendancy during this period and the Church of Scotland was briefly aligned with the Church of England during the reign of Charles II of Scotland. Charles was a strong opponent of Presbyterianism and throughout his lifetime worked to reassert the strength of the Anglican Church. In 1681, Blair, aligned with the Episcopalians, was deprived of his parish in Edinburgh due to the conflict within the Episcopal movement between those supporting the Roman Catholic Church and those advocating a continued independent Episcopal national church. Blair relocated to London later that year.