Appoline Agatha Alexander Blair (September 14, 1828 – Sep. 5, 1908) was an American philanthropist, hospital founder, and wife of Senator (and Civil War general)
Francis Preston Blair Jr.
Francis Preston Blair Jr. (February 19, 1821 – July 8, 1875) was a United States Senator, a United States Congressman and a Union Major General during the Civil War. He represented Missouri in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, a ...
Biography
Appoline Agatha Alexander was born to Andrew Alexander of
Woodford County, Kentucky. She married
Francis Preston Blair Jr.
Francis Preston Blair Jr. (February 19, 1821 – July 8, 1875) was a United States Senator, a United States Congressman and a Union Major General during the Civil War. He represented Missouri in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, a ...
(1821–1875) on September 8, 1847, and had eight children. In 1878, after losing two children to illness, Blair gathered a group of 20 prominent women and organized the
St. Louis Children's Hospital
St. Louis Children's Hospital is a dedicated pediatric hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, and has a primary service region covering six states. As the pediatric teaching hospital for Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis Children's Hos ...
, for which she served as the first president of the Board of Managers. In addition to the St. Louis Children's Hospital, she is sometimes credited with the creation of the
St. John's Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri, in 1896. She died on September 5, 1908 at the home of her daughter in St. Louis.
References
External links
Blair family papersa
Princeton University Library. Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Appoline Alexander
1828 births
1908 deaths
19th-century American philanthropists
Blair family