Edward Beale McLean
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Edward Beale McLean (1889 – 1941) was the publisher and owner of the Washington Post from 1916 until 1933.
Edward was born into a publishing fortune founded by his paternal grandfather Washington McLean who owned the Washington Post and the Cincinnati Enquirer. He was the only child of John Roll McLean and the former Emily Truxtun Beale, the daughter of Edward F. Beale and the former Emily Truxton. Emily was a hostess and socialite who was the inspiration for the character Virginia Dare in the 1880 comic novel, Democracy: An American Novel by Henry Adams[citation needed].[1]
In 1908 he married Evalyn Walsh, the only surviving child and sole heiress of mining millionaire Thomas Walsh. Ned McLean purchased the Hope Diamond for his bride on a whim. While the couple eloped, they did so with $200,000 in "pin" money for their honeymoon expenses, only to find part way through the honeymoon that they were broke and couldn't pay a hotel bill when in Paris. Their parents, happy that they hadn't done anything drastic, such as trying to buy the hotel, happily wired money. The couple eventually returned to Washington and finally settled in at the McLean family's country house 'Friendship' (now the McLean Gardens Condominium development) along Wisconsin Avenue to the south of the Tenleytown neighborhood of Washington, DC.
The McLeans had four children, three of whom became well known for their multiple marriages and divorces: Vinson Walsh McLean (an epileptic who died at the age of nine, following a traffic accident), Edward Beale McLean Jr, John Roll McLean II, and Emily Washington McLean (who later changed her name to Evalyn Walsh McLean and committed suicide at age 25). The couple, whose marriage was rent by infidelity and substance abuse (he was a spectacular alcoholic, while she was addicted to morphine), divorced in 1929. Ned McLean eventually became the common-law husband of Rose Douras, a sister of the Hollywood film star Marion Davies.
The McLeans' frivolous spending accelerated during their marriage and their inability to understand the basics of money management resulted in their virtual bankruptcy towards the end of their lives. Together, the couple wasted two family fortunes worth millions (billions in current cash value) by splurging on such exotic (some considered wasteful) things as a million-dollar birthday party for their dog, who was allowed to wear the Hope Diamond on his day of honor.
Following the Wall Street Crash of 1929, McLean quickly fell into bankruptcy. It was at a bankruptcy auction in 1933 when the Washington Post was purchased by a member of the Federal Reserve's board of governors, Eugene Meyer, who restored the paper's health and reputation.
The couple's notoriety is reflected by their appearance in Cole Porter's title song to the 1934 musical, Anything Goes:
- "When Missus Ned McLean (God bless her)
- Can get Russian reds to "yes" her,
- Then I suppose
- Anything goes."
McLean and his wife were avid supporters of Warren G. Harding, whom they met through Nicholas and Alice Roosevelt Longworth. When Harding was elected President, he named Ned McLean to head up Harding's inaugural committee.
A chronic alcoholic given to prolonged periods of binge drinking, Ned McLean suffered from ongoing psychiatric issues that affected his personality. Eventually, he was committed to a private mental facility near Baltimore, Maryland, where he died in 1941.
The suburban community (Census Designated Place) of McLean, Virginia, is named for McLean's father John Roll McLean.
