William McCormick Blair Jr.

William McCormick "Bill" Blair Jr. (October 24, 1916 – August 29, 2015) was an American diplomat who served as United States Ambassador to Denmark from 1961 to 1964 and as United States Ambassador to the Philippines from 1964 until 1967. A lawyer, he also was a close associate of Adlai Stevenson II. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws (L.L. D.) degree from Whittier College in 1964.

Early life Blair was a son of Helen Hadduck (Bowen) and William M. Blair, who co-founded the investment banking firm William Blair & Company. He graduated from the Groton School in 1935, was named director and vice-president of the Lasker Foundation in 1965 and is a noted advocate for public health issues.

The couple had one child, a son named William McCormick Blair III, who committed suicide in May 2004 at age 41. After their son's death, they relocated from Washington, D.C., to New York City. He died on August 29, 2015, at his home in Manhattan at the age of 98, and was buried at Lake Forest Cemetery in Illinois.

Family tree