On this day in 1821, Union General Francis Preston Blair Jr. is
born in Lexington, Kentucky. The colorful Blair was instrumental
in keeping Missouri part of the Union during the early stages of
the Civil War. Blair's father served as an advisor to several
presidents. His namesake and youngest son was privileged and
rebellious as a youth. As a college student, the younger Blair
was expelled from the University of North Carolina and Yale for
misconduct. He finally finished his degree at Princeton, but was
denied graduation for participating in a wild party in his final
week. Blair's degree was bestowed a year later after an
influential friend intervened on his behalf. Blair studied law
in Kentucky and went on to practice in Missouri with his
brother, Montgomery, who would later serve as U.S. postmaster
general under President Abraham Lincoln. During the 1850s,
Francis ran an anti-slave newspaper in St. Louis and served in
the Missouri legislature. He was elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives in 1856. Bla