John Adair 1800 to 1803. A candidate for a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1800, he was defeated in an overwhelming 68–13 vote of the legislature by John Breckinridge, who had been the acknowledged leader of the just-concluded constitutional convention. In 1802, Adair succeeded Breckinridge as Speaker of the House by a vote of 30–14 over Elder David Purviance, the candidate preferred by Governor James Garrard. He continued to serve as Speaker for the duration of his tenure in the House. In 1802, the legislature formed Adair County, Kentucky, naming it after the popular Speaker. In January 1804, Garrard nominated Adair
John Adair (surveyor) John Adair (surveyor) John Adair (1660–1718) was a Scottish surveyor and cartographer, noted for the excellence of his maps. He first came to public notice in 1683, with a prospectus published in Edinburgh for a "Scottish Atlas" stating that the Privy Council of Scotland had engaged Adair, a "mathematician and skilfull mechanic", to survey the shires of Scotland. He surveyed the coast of Scotland from 1686, and was made a fellow of the Royal Society in 1688. The only part of the coastal survey appeared in 1703. He was perhaps the first Scottish map-maker actively to use triangulation in his