John Roll McLean

Who was John Roll McLean?

John Roll McLean was the owner and publisher of The Washington Post and The Cincinnati Enquirer. McLean was also a one-time partner in the ownership of the Cincinnati Red Stockings baseball team of the American Association and also the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds of the Union Association.

He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Washington McLean, the owner and publisher of The Cincinnati Enquirer. In 1905, he and his father purchased a controlling interest in The Washington Post.

In 1904, he and Senator Stephen Benton Elkins built the Great Falls and Old Dominion Railroad. McLean, Virginia, which grew up around the railroad, is named for him.

McLean received the Democratic Party's nomination for the United States Senate in 1885 and for the Ohio governor's seat in 1899. He lost both elections.

He married Emily Beale and was the father of Edward Beale McLean, owner of the Hope Diamond. His sister, Mildred, was the wife of General William Babcock Hazen and Admiral George Dewey. His former estate, Friendship, is now McLean Gardens.