Alexander Blair (writer)

He was the son of Alexander Blair (1737–c.1816), a manufacturer and merchant in the Birmingham area, and brother of the writer and historian Mary Margaret Busk.

[7] Socially, he knew James Boswell and Joseph Priestley, and was connected to the Lunar Society by his acquaintance.

[11] From 1830 to 1836 he was Professor of English and Rhetoric at London University, successor to Thomas Dale who had first held the chair.

As a man of letters he did not thrive in the philological atmosphere promoted by colleagues Thomas Hewitt Key and George Long, and resigned the post.

[12] Blair was a friend of Thomas Wright Hill, and also of Samuel Carter, a Coventry lawyer and a younger man.

Specialised encyclopedias were appearing at the period, such as the Encyclopaedia, or Dictionary of Music (1825) by John Feltham Danneley.

[16] A loyal supporter of John Wilson, who wrote as "Christopher North", Blair provided both material and encouragement to his friend.