- Blair Lee I
Francis Preston Blair Lee (
August 9 ,1857 –December 25 ,1944 ) was a Democratic member of theUnited States Senate , representing the State of Maryland from 1914-1917. He was also the great-grandson of American patriotRichard Henry Lee , and grandfather of former Maryland GovernorBlair Lee III .Lee was born in
Silver Spring, Maryland and attended the common schools in the area. He was the son ofSamuel Phillips Lee . He graduated fromPrinceton University in 1880 and from the law department of Columbian (now George Washington) University in 1882. He was admitted to the bar of theDistrict of Columbia and ofMontgomery County, Maryland in 1883 and commenced practice in Maryland.Lee was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Fifty-fifth Congress in 1896. He was, however, successfully elected to the
Maryland State Senate , and served from 1905-1913. In 1911, Lee ran for the position of Governor of Maryland, but was defeated by Democratic rivalPhillips Lee Goldsborough .Following his defeat in the gubernatorial election, Lee was elected to the United States Senate on
November 4 ,1913 , to fill the vacancy caused by the death of senatorIsidor Rayner . He presented his credentials to serve as senator onDecember 5 ,1913 , but he did not qualify untilJanuary 28 ,1914 . While senator, Lee was chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Post Office Department, and a member of the Committee on Coast Defenses (Sixty-third and Sixty-fourth Congresses). He was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election in 1916.Lee resumed the practice of law after he left the Senate. He died in
Norwood, Maryland and is buried inRock Creek Cemetery inWashington, D.C. References
*CongBio|L000189
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