Sir James Hunter Blair, 1st Baronet (February 1741 – 1 July 1787) was a Scottish banker and politician.
Born John Hunter, the son of an Ayr merchant, he became a banker in the banking company of Sir William Forbes, and acquired the estate of Robertland. On marrying Jean Blair, the daughter and heiress of John Blair of Dunskey in Wigtownshire in 1770, the family name became Hunter Blair when she inherited her father's estate in 1777. The two had 14 children.
Hunter Blair was Member of Parliament for Edinburgh from 1780 to 1784 and Lord Provost of Edinburgh in 1784. As Lord Provost, he carried through various reforms, including the beginning of work on rebuilding the University and the construction of the bridge over the Cowgate. The foundation stone of this bridge was laid by Lord Haddo, as Grand Master Mason of Scotland in 1785, after Parliament had passed an Act giving permission for the plans to be executed. Blair was knighted and created a baronet the following year, in 1786.
Hunter Blair cordially received Robert Burns when the poet first arrived in Edinburgh. On Hunter Blair's death, Burns drafted a somewhat stilted elegy, beginning: 'The lamp of day, with ill-presaging glare', which extols rather laboriously Blair's public virtues. Burns called it 'just mediocre' but Ferguson describes it, justifiably as 'the disastrous Elegy on the Death of Sir James Hunter Blair'.
Hunter Blair was an enthusiastic Freemason. Hunter Square and Blair Street in Edinburgh are both named after him.
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Lawrence Dundas |
Member of Parliament for Edinburgh 1781–1784 |
Succeeded by Sir Adam Fergusson |
| Baronetage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by New creation |
Baronet (of Dunskey) 1786–1787 |
Succeeded by John Hunter Blair |