John McLean (merchant)
| John McLean | |
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Portrait by John Johnston
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| Born | 1761 Milton, Massachusetts |
| Died | October 23, 1823 (aged 62 or 63) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Amory McLean Lee (m. 1796-1823, his death) |
John McLean (1761 – October 16, 1823) was an American merchant most famous because of his will. The will was the subject of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case Harvard College v. Amory, which led to the Prudent man rule; left a bequest to Massachusetts General Hospital which led to McLean Hospital being named after him; and established the McLean Professor of Ancient and Modern History, a professorship at Harvard University.
John McLean was born in 1761. The exact date is unknown. His birthplace was likely Milton, Massachusetts where his mother's parents had settled. However, the Milton record of births does not list John McLean's birth in the town. John McLean. an only child, attended the Milton public schools. On October 15, 1795 he bought a house for $8,000 on the Franklin Street Crescent that had been designed by Charles Bulfinch. On February 14, 1796, at King's Chapel, Boston, he married Ann Amory, one of the eleven children of John Amory.
McLean was a merchant, who partnered with Isaac Davenport. He worked from offices on Long Wharf while ingraining himself in Boston society, becoming a member of the Massachusetts (Boston) Chapter of the Masonic Society, and one of the original shareholders of the Manufacturers' and Mechanics' Bank in 1814 and the City Bank of Boston in 1822. It appears that McLean led a boom and bust merchant's life, his fortunes hitting a low at the end of the eighteenth century. Between December 1799 and January 1800, eight ships whose insurance was in part underwritten by him were taken by French privateers. Some accounts state that McLean went bankrupt; others that he almost went bankrupt, but was saved financially by the arrival of a ship thought lost. McLean continued his business interests and it is said that he made $100,000 in a single speculation on molasses at the time of the War of 1812.
In 1823, the year of his death, John McLean placed mile markers six through ten out from Boston to his birthplace, Milton, Massachusetts. His business partner, Isaac Davenport, completed the work after McLean's death and had McLean's name inscribed on the stones. As of 2016, the stones still exist. John McLean died a wealthy and well-regarded man on October 23, 1823, leaving an estate of $228,120. His reputation at his death had matured to the point that it was said after his passing, "Mr. McLean was a truly noble specimen of a Boston Merchant."
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