BLAIR 56 ent parts of the West, besides laying out many towns and villages on the lines of his numerous railroads. He died m Blairstown, N. J., Dec. 2, 1899. BLAIR, MONTGOMERY, an Ameri- can lawyer, born in Franklin co., Ky., May 10, 1813; was graduated at the United States Military Academy m 1835; resigned from the army in 1836; ad- mitted to the bar in 1839; began prac- tice in St. Louis. He was Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1843-1849 ; re- moved to Maryland in 1852; was United States Solicitor in the Court of Claims in 1855-1858. He acted as counsel for the plaintiff in the widely known Dred Scott case. In 1861-1864 he was Post- master-General. In 1876-1877 he acted with the Democratic party in opposing Mr. Hayes' title to the office of President. He died in Silver Springs, Md., July 27, 1883. BLAKE, EDWARD, an English states- man, born in Adelaide, Ont., Canada, Oct. 13, 1833; was educated at Upper Canada College and Toronto University; called to the bar in 1856; and engaged in prac- tice in Toronto. He entered public life in 1867; was Premier of Ontario in 1871- 1872, Minister of Justice in 1875-1877, and the recognized leader of the Canadian Liberal party in 1880-1891. He declined the appointments of Chancellor of Upper Canada in 1869, Chief Justice of Canada in 1875, and Chief Justice of Ontario in 1897, and also the honor of knighthood. In 1892 he was invited by the leaders of the Anti-Parnellites in Ireland to enter the British House of Commons as the representative of an Irish constituency. Consenting, he removed to South Long- ford, was elected for that district, and in 1895 was re-elected. In 1896 he was appointed a member of the Judiciary Committee of the Privy Council. He died in Toronto, 1912. BLAKE, ELI WHITNEY, an Amer- ican inventor, born in Westboro, Mass., Jan. 27, 1795; graduated at Yale Univer- sity in 1816. He began business with his uncle, Eli Whitney, in the manufacture of fire-arms; and in 1834 founded, near New Haven, Conn., the pioneer factory for the manufacture of domestic hard- ware. In 1857 he invented the widely known stone and ore crusher called the Blake crusher, which introduced a new era in road making and mining indus- tries, and is used throughout the world. He died in New Haven, Conn., Aug. 17, 1886. BLAKE, ROBERT, a British naval officer, born at Bridgewater in 1599. He BLAKE studied at Oxford and was elected a mem- ber for Bridgewater in the Parliament of 1640. This being soon dissolved he lost his election for the next, and sought to advance the Parliamentary cause in a military capacity in the war which then broke out. He soon distinguished him- self, and in 1649 was sent to command the fleet with Colonels Deane and Pop- ROBERT BLAKE ham. He attempted to block up Prince Rupert in Kinsale, but the Prince es- ; caped to Lisbon, where Blake followed him. Being refused permission to attack him in the Tagus by the King of Portugal, he took several rich prizes from the Portuguese, and followed Rupert to Malaga, where, without asking permis- sion of Spain, he attacked him and nearly destroyed the whole of his fleet. In the Dutch War which broke out in 1652 he was attacked in the Downs by Van Tromp with a fleet of 45 sail, the force of Blake amounting only to 23, but Van Tromp was obliged to retreat. In Febru- ary following he put to sea with 60 sail, and soon after met the Dutch Admiral, who had 70 sail and 300 merchantmen under convoy. During three days a run- ning fight up the Channel was maintained, resulting in the loss of 11 men-of-war and 30 merchant ships by the Dutch, while that of the English was only one man-of-war. In this action Blake was severely wounded. On June 3 he again engaged Van Tromp and forced the Dutch to retire, with considerable loss, into their own harbors. In November, 1654, he was sent with a strong fleet to enforce a due respect to the British flag in the Mediterranean. He sailed first to.
