John Day (18 February 1797 – 15 February 1859) was a

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean to its south and southwest. It ...

n politician and jurist who served as the 2nd

Chief Justice of Liberia The chief justice of Liberia is the head of the judicial branch of the Government of the Republic of Liberia and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Liberia. Appointment and term Article 54(c) of the Constitution stipulates that the chi ...

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 East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

, 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 Christianity, Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe ...

minister in 1821, he had planned to become a Baptist

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, 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.Tho ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, 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 freebo ...

, 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 county in the west-central portion of the West African nation of Liberia. One of 15 counties that comprise the first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has eight districts. Buchanan serves as the capital with the ...

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 ...

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 princip ...

.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 A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

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 f ...

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 Libe ...

, 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