John Blair Linn (March 14, 1777August 30, 1804) was an American clergyman and poet. John Blair Linn was born in

Shippensburg, Pennsylvania Shippensburg is a borough in Cumberland and Franklin counties in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Settled in 1730, Shippensburg lies in the Cumberland Valley, southwest of Harrisburg, and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan St ...

, on March 14, 1777. William Linn, his father, was an academic administrator. Linn graduated from Columbia College in 1793. He published in magazines and newspapers while at college. After college, Linn studied law in the office of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

, a friend of his father's, but did not take to it. After abandoning the law, he studied theology with Dirck Romeyn at

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

, receiving an MA in 1797. He was ordained a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

clergyman in 1798 and became assistant pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia on June 13, 1799. Shortly after his graduation from college, Linn wrote a play titled ''Bourville Castle, or the Gallic Maidens''. The play premiered at

John Street Theatre John Street Theatre, situated at 15–21 John Street, sometimes called "The Birthplace of American Theatre", was the first permanent theatre in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York.''The Oxford Companion to the Theatre'' (Fourth Editio ...

on January 16, 1797, but was not successful. He published five books of poetry and three prose works. He died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on August 30, 1804.

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