Edward Beale McLean
Edward Beale McLean | |
---|---|
Publisher | |
Known for | Owner of The Washington Post and the Hope Diamond |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | |
Children | 4 |
Parent | John Roll McLean |
Edward "Ned" Beale McLean (1889 – July 28, 1941) was the publisher and owner of The Washington Post newspaper, from 1916 until 1933. His wife, Evalyn Walsh McLean, was a prominent Washington socialite. McLean was also a thoroughbred racehorse owner and purchaser of the Hope Diamond, which was traditionally believed to carry a curse. McLean was declared insane and died in a psychiatric hospital.[1]
Early life
McLean was born into a publishing fortune founded by his paternal grandfather,
Career
In 1916, Edward inherited The Washington Post, which he owned and published until 1933.[3]
Thoroughbred horse racing
In 1915, Edward McLean acquired
Hope Diamond ownership
On January 28, 1911, in a deal made in the offices of The Washington Post, McLean purchased the
Personal life
In 1908, Edward McLean married Evalyn Walsh, the only surviving child and sole heiress of mining millionaire Thomas Walsh.[13] Following a honeymoon trip around the world, the couple returned to Washington and settled into the McLean family's country house, called "Friendship", now the McLean Gardens Condominium development in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Washington. The McLeans lived lavishly and were prominent in Washington society.[3]
Political friends
The McLeans were close friends of Senator and President Warren G. Harding and first lady Florence Harding.[3]
McLean was also a friend of
Divorce, mental illness, and death
The McLean marriage ended with much publicized and bitterly contested divorce proceedings, initiated by Mrs. McLean on grounds of
Edward McLean's increasingly erratic behavior and reckless spending led to the forced sale of The Washington Post by trustees appointed by the court. The divorce proceedings of Evalyn McLean continued in United States court but were dropped
Edward McLean died of a
Progeny
On May 18, 1919, nine-year-old Vinson Walsh McLean (born December 18, 1909), the eldest of four McLean children, was struck by a car and killed while crossing Wisconsin Avenue in front of their house.[19]
On October 9, 1941, their 19-year-old daughter, Evalyn Washington "Evie" McLean (November 16, 1921–September 20, 1946), became the fifth wife of 57-year-old Senator
The couple's second son, John Randolph "Jock" McLean II, married three times to socialites: first to Agnes Landon Pyne Davis Bacon (née Davis) in 1941, then to Elizabeth Muhlenberg “Betty” Brooke Blake Phipps Reed (née Blake) in 1943, and finally to former model Mildred W. "Brownie" Brown Schrafft (née Brown) in 1953.[citation needed] In 1976, Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt rented Brownie McLean's Palm Beach estate, El Solano, as a background for published photographs. In January 1980 she sold the mansion to Yoko Ono and John Lennon. She turned down the Hope Diamond in 1952 when offered by her husband on the passing of his mother, due to the so-called "curse" associated with it.[24]
Third son, Edward Beale McLean, Jr., married Ann Carroll Meem in May 1938. Their divorce was granted in July 1943 and in August he married actress Gloria Hatrick, with whom he had two sons, Ronald and Michael. Ronald was killed in action in 1969 by enemy fire while serving in Vietnam as a first lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps.[25] McLean Jr. and Gloria divorced in January 1948. In October of that year, he married Manuela Mercedes "Mollie" Hudson, who had been the first wife of Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Jr.; in August 1949, Gloria married actor James Stewart. McLean Jr. and Hudson-Vanderbilt separated in the 1960s and divorced in 1973, after which he married Patricia Dewey.[26]
References
- ^ a b ""Ex-Publisher McLean Dies," Los Angeles Times, July 28, 1941". Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
- ^ Gerald Thompson, "Edward F. Beale and the American West", University of New Mexico Press, 1983, page 219.
- ^ a b c Palm Beach Post - May 11, 1932
- ^ New York Times – March 24, 1931
- ^ May 10, 1915
- ^ New York Times - September 4, 1912
- ^ New York Times - March 11, 1917
- ^ New York Times - June 16, 1931
- ^ Chicago Daily Tribune – December 2, 1931[permanent dead link]
- ^ New York Times, March 10, 1911
- ^ New York Times, February 2, 1912
- ^ "HOPE & DESPAIR: THE 'CURSE' OF THE DIAMOND", by Sarah Booth Conroy, September 29, 1997. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
- ^ New York Times - July 23, 1908
- ^ a b c Roberts, Chalmers M. (9 June 1977). "Uncovering a Coverup on Teapot Dome". The Washington Post. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ISBN 9781442242920. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ Chicago Daily Tribune, November 15, 1931[permanent dead link]
- ^ Chicago Daily Tribune, November 1, 1933[permanent dead link]
- ^ EB McLEAN HELD INSANE, The New York Times, October 31, 1933
- ^ McLEAN HEIR KILLED BY AN AUTOMOBILE, The New York Times, May 19, 1919
- ^ Lewiston Daily Sun, October 10, 1941
- ^ St. Petersburg Times, September 21, 1946
- ^ "Mrs. Reynolds' Death Accidental," The New York Times, October 4, 1946
- ^ Tuscaloosa News, October 10, 1965
- ^ "LENNON MANSION BRINGS $3.5 MILLION", by Julie Eagle,South Florida SunSentinel, February 6, 1986. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
- ^ "1Lt Ronald Walsh Mc Lean". Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved 2011-05-06.
- ^ Nashua, New Hampshire Telegraph, August 9, 1949