Hugh Blair FRSE was a Scottish minister of religion, author and rhetorician, considered one of the first great theorists of written discourse. He was a significant figure in the Scottish Enlightenment and is best known for his Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres (1783), a prescriptive guide to composition.
In 1783 Blair was one of the founder members of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. He served as its Literary President from 1789 to 1796.