John Day (18 February 1797 – 15 February 1859) was a Liberian politician and jurist who served as the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit, ...

Chief Justice of Liberia from 1854 until his death in 1859. Born in Hicksford,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, Day was the brother of Thomas Day, a famed American furniture designer and black businessman. After being licensed as a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

minister in 1821, he had planned to become a Baptist

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

in Haiti, but was unable to secure support among the Virginia Baptist establishment.Flowers, Elizabeth ''John Day, Southern Baptists, and the nineteenth-century mission to Liberia''
/ref> He traveled to Liberia in 1830 as part of the colonization effort by the

American Colonization Society The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...

, where he was appointed by the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions as the head of their mission in Liberia. In addition to his preaching, he also served as a farmer and merchant. Within one year of his family's arrival in Liberia, his wife and all five of his children had died of disease. Day served as a delegate from

Grand Bassa County Grand Bassa is a Counties of Liberia, county in the west-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the Administrative division, first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has eight Distr ...

to Liberia's constitutional convention and signed both of its

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

and its

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

.Allafrica.com, ''Liberia: National Flag Day''
/ref> He served as President Pro Tempore of the Senate of Liberia in 1840s. In 1854, he was appointed to the Supreme Court by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Joseph Jenkins Roberts Joseph Jenkins Roberts (March 15, 1809 – February 24, 1876) was an African-American merchant who emigrated to Liberia in 1829, where he became a politician. Elected as the first (1848–1856) and seventh (1872–1876) president of Liber ...

, serving as the second Chief Justice of Liberia. He died in

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As th ...

on 15 February 1859.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, John Chief justices of Liberia Presidents pro tempore of the Senate of Liberia Americo-Liberian people 1797 births 1859 deaths People from Virginia People from Grand Bassa County Signatories of the Liberian Declaration of Independence 19th-century Liberian judges