Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/311

Rh CO.. N. Y., 8 Dec, 1771, was educated at the "Log College" of Dr. Tennant. He was licensed to preach by the Newcastle presbytery, belonging to the "New Side" division of the Presbyterian church, and on 27 Dec, 1742, was ordained pastor of three churches in Cumberland co.. Pa. While here he made two visits to Virginia, the last in 1746, and organized several new congregations. As his parishes were frontier settlements, exposed to Indian depredations, Mr. Blair resigned his charge on 28 Dec, 1748, and returned to the more civilized part of the colony. In 1757 he succeeded his brother as pastor at Fogg's Manor, Pa., and also as head of the seminary. In 1767 he was chosen professor of divinity at Princeton, and vice-president of the college, acting also as president for a short time. In 1769, as the college proved unable to support a professorship of divinity, Mr. Blair resigned, and. on 19 May of that year, accepted a call to Walkill, where he remained until his death. He published a treatise on "Regeneration," Calvinistic in its tone ; a treatise on the "Terms of Admission to the Lord's Supper," and several sermons.—John's son, John Durbarrow, b. in Fogg's Manor, 15 Oct., 1759; d. in Richmond, Va., in January, 1823, was graduated at Princeton in 1775, and preached for many years in Richmond.—Samuel, son of Samuel, noticed above, clergyman, b. in Fogg's Manor, Pa., in 1741; d. in Germantown, Pa., 24 Sept., 1818, was graduated at Princeton in 1760, and was tutor there from 1761 till 1764, when he was licensed to preach by Newcastle presbytery. In 1767 Mr. Blair, though but twenty-six years old, was elected to the presidency of Princeton college. Dr. Witherspoon having declined the first call of the trustees. But learning that, owing to a change of circumstances. Dr. Witherspoon was willing to accept, Mr. Blair declined in his favor. In November, 1766, he was settled, as colleague of Dr. Sewall, over the Old South church, Boston. While on his way thither from Philadelphia, he was shipwrecked, and narrowly escaped with his life. His health was much injured by the exposure, and in the spring of 1769 he had a severe illness, which, in connection with some theological differences between him and his congregation, induced him to resign. He left the Old South church in 1769, and in the same year married a daughter of Dr. Shippen, of Philadelphia. The rest of his life was passed in Germantown, Pa., where he was the principal founder of the English Presbyterian church, and preached gratuitously for a season. He was several times a member of the Pennsylvania assembly, and was for two years chaplain to the continental congress. In 1790 the university of Pennsylvania gave him the degree of S. T. D. He published an oration on the death of George II. (1761).

BLAKE, Clarence John, physician, b. in Boston, Mass., 23 Feb., 1843. He studied at Lawrence scientific school, and was graduated at the Harvard medical school in 1865, after which he spent some time abroad and received the degree of " obstetrical magistrum " at Vienna in 1867. He began to practise in Boston in 1869, and has devoted his attention principally to diseases of the ear. In 1871 he became aural surgeon in the Massachusetts charitable eye and ear infirmary, and during the same year was appointed instructor in otology in Harvard medical school. He is a member of medical and scientific societies, and was president of the American otological society in 1876-7. Dr. Blake has invented several surgical instruments for use in the treatment of diseases of the ear, principally the membrana tympani phonautograph. He has published papers on subjects in acoustics and otology, and was the editor of the "American Journal of Otology " in 1879-'82, and also of Riidinger's "Atlas of the Osseous Anatomy of the Human Ear" (Boston, 1870).

BLAKE, Eli Whitney, inventor, b. in Westborough, Mass., 27 Jan., 1795; d. in New Haven,Conn., 18 Aug., 1886. He studied at Leicester (Mass.) Academy, and was graduated at Yale in 1816, after which he studied law with Judge Gould in Litchfield, Conn. But this he soon abandoned at the request of his uncle, Eli Whitney, who desired his assistance in erecting and organizing the gun-factory at Whitneyville. Here he made important improvements in the machinery and in the processes of manufacturing arms. On the death of Mr. Whitney in 1825 he associated with himself his brother Philos, and continued to manage the business. In 1836 they were joined by another brother, John A., and, under the firm-name of Blake Brothers, established at Westville a factory for the production of door-locks and latches of their own invention. The business was afterward extended so as to include casters, hinges, and other articles of hardware, most of which were covered by patents. In this branch of manufacture, Blake Brothers were among the pioneers, and long held the front rank. The ideas that they originated still characterize the forms of American locks, latches, casters, hinges, and other articles of house-furnishing hardware wherever manufactured. In 1852 Mr. Blake was appointed to superintend the macadamizing of the city streets, and his attention was directed to the want of a proper machine for breaking stone. This problem he solved in 1857 by the invention of the Blake stone-breaker, which, for originality, simplicity, and effectiveness, has justly been regarded by experts as unique. This crusher is now used in all parts of the world for breaking ores, road metal, and similar purposes. Mr. Blake was one of the founders, and for several years president, of the Connecticut Academy of Science. He contributed valuable papers to the &ldquo;American Journal of Science&rdquo; and other periodicals, the most important of which he published in a single volume as &ldquo;Original Solutions of Several Problems in Aërodynamics&rdquo; (1882). &mdash; His son, Eli Whitney, b. in New Haven, 20 April, 1836; d. in Hampton, Conn., 1 Oct., 1895, was graduated at Yale, and at Sheffield Scientific School, after which he studied chemistry and physics in the Universities of Heidelberg, Marburg, and Berlin. Prof. Blake was professor of chemistry in the University of Vermont (1867); professor of physics at Cornell (1868-'70); acting professor of physics at Columbia (1868-'9); and professor of physics at Brown (1870-'86). He was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of other scientific bodies, to whose proceedings he frequently contributed valuable papers.

BLAKE, George A. H., soldier, b. in Pennsylvania in September, 1812; d. in Washington, D. C, 27 Oct., 1884. He became lieutenant in the 2d dragoons 11 June, 1836, was made captain in December, 1839, and was in the actions with the Seminoles at Port Miller and Jupiter inlet, in 1841. During the Mexican war, in 1846-7, he was in the battles at Cerro Gordo, Puebla, Contreras, Molino del Rey, Chapultepec, and the city of Mexico, and was brevetted major for gallant conduct at St. Augustine, Mexico. In July, 1850, he became major of the 1st dragoons, and served against the Apache and Navajo Indians. In May, 1861, he was made lieutenant-colonel of the 1st U. S. cavalry, and colonel on 15 Feb., 1863. He took part in the battle of Gaines's