The British educator James Blair (1655-1743) was commissary of Virginia for the bishop of London and founder and first president of the College of William and Mary.

Born to a Presbyterian minister and his wife in Scotland, James Blair attended Marischal College, Aberdeen, for 2 years. He received a master of arts degree from the University of Edinburgh, where he remained to study divinity. In 1679 he settled as a minister of the Scottish Episcopal Church near Edinburgh. Two years later, because he scrupled to sign the Scottish Test Act, he was deprived of a living anywhere in Scotland. He went to London, where he became acquainted with Henry Compton, the bishop of London, who persuaded him to go to Virginia as a missionary.

After 5 years in Virginia, Blair was appointed commissary (deputy) to the bishop of London, with authority to supervise the discipline of the Anglican clergy, though without...