Henry William Blair

Henry William Blair (born Dec. 6, 1834, Campton, N.H., U.S.—died March 14, 1920, Washington, D.C.) was an American politician who, as a member of Congress, pioneered efforts to win federal support for public education.

Blair was 2 when his father died and 12 when his mother died. Raised by neighbours on a farm, he attended school sporadically when breaks from farm work permitted. He never went to college but studied law privately and was admitted to the bar in 1859.

Twice rejected as physically unfit for service in the American Civil War, Blair was finally accepted in 1862. He rose from captain to lieutenant colonel of the 15th New Hampshire Volunteers, but he was soon severely wounded and spent the rest of the war an invalid at home.

In 1866 he won a seat in the state legislature and in 1874 was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served two terms. In 1879 the legislature elected him to the U.S. Senate, where he served until 1891. Although an orthodox Republican on most issues, Blair took advanced positions on peace and disarmament, the rights of women and workers, enfranchisement of residents of the nation’s capital, racial justice, and public education.

Some 80 years ahead of his time, he vainly sought in 1876 to give revenues from the sale of public lands to the nation’s schools; and in 1881 he proposed a $120,000,000 grant to the states to “vitalize” their schools. As chairman of the Senate’s Committee on Education and Labor, he consistently, and vainly, sought federal aid to public schools.

Blair accepted appointment by President Benjamin Harrison as minister to China, but he was recalled when the Chinese government, angered at his position opposing Asian immigration, declared him persona non grata. He settled in Washington, D.C., and resumed his law practice.