Evalyn Walsh McLean (b. 1886 in Leadville, Colorado, d. 1947 in Washington, D.C.) was an American mining heiress and socialite who was famous for being the last private owner of the Hope Diamond as well as another famous diamond, the Star of the East. She also was the author, with Boyden Sparkes, of a memoir, "Father Struck It Rich". 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... View of Mount Massive looking west from Harrison Street in downtown Leadville Leadville is the county seat of Lake County, Colorado. ... 1947 (MCMXLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1947 calendar). ... Flag Seal Nickname: the District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location Location of Washington, D.C., with regard to the surrounding states of Maryland and Virginia. ... Hope Diamond in museum The Hope Diamond is a large, deep blue diamond, currently housed in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. ...

She was the only daughter of Thomas Walsh, an Irish immigrant miner and prospector turned multimillionaire, and his wife, Carrie Bell Reed, a former schoolteacher.

In 1908, she married Edward Beale McLean, the heir to the Washington Post and Cincinnati Enquirer publishing fortune. They had four children: 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). 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, though the decree was invalidated due to the divorce having been illegally obtained in Lithuania. Ned McLean eventually became the common-law husband of Rose Douras, a sister of the Hollywood film star Marion Davies, before dying in a mental institution. Edward Beale McLean (1889-1941) was the publisher and owner of the Washington Post from 1916 until 1933. ... ... The Cincinnati Enquirer is a daily morning newspaper published at Cincinnati, Ohio. ... ... A movie star is a celebrity who is well known for his or her starring, or leading, roles in motion pictures. ... Marion Davies illustrated by Hamilton King, 1920 Marion Davies (born January 3, 1897; died September 23, 1961) was an American comedic actress. ...

The couple's notoriety is reflected by their appearance in Cole Porter's title song to the 1934 musical, Anything Goes: Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter from Indiana. ... For the song by Guns N Roses, see Anything Goes (song) Anything Goes is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. ...

 "When Missus Ned McLean (God bless her) Can get Russian reds to "yes" her, Then I suppose Anything goes." 

Evalyn Walsh McLean was also a friend and confidante to Alice Roosevelt Longworth and Florence Harding, the wife of Warren G. Harding, the 29th President of the United States. Alice Roosevelt, taken about 1900. ... White House portrait Florence Kling Harding (August 15, 1860–November 21, 1924), wife of Warren G. Harding, was First Lady of the United States from 1921 to 1923. ... Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was an American politician and the 29th President of the United States, serving from 1921 to 1923, when he became the sixth president to die in office. ...

The site of her summer house, Friendship -- a sprawling country mansion built for her father-in-law by John Russell Pope and which was located on Tenleytown Road, N.W. -- is now an apartment complex known as McLean Gardens. (The original house was demolished in the 1940s though some of the property's garden features remain intact, as does the Georgian-style ballroom.) A later residence, also known as Friendship, is located at the corner of R Street, N.W. and Wisconsin Avenue, and remains a private home. Her childhood home, a grandiose Second Empire-style mansion at 2020 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., is now the Indonesian embassy. The Jefferson Memorial, built 1939 — 1943 John Russell Pope (April 24, 1874 – August 27, 1937) was an architect most known for his designs of the Jefferson Memorial (completed in 1943) and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art (completed in 1941) in Washington, DC. Pope was born in...

McLean was a victim of Gaston Means, a former F.B.I. agent, murder suspect, and grifter, who claimed that he had set a deal to free the Lindbergh baby for a ransom of over $100,000 (USD) which Evalyn McLean advanced him. Means disappeared with the money only to resurface months later in California and ask McLean for additional funds. Suspicious of Means' activities, she helped lead police to Means, who was also wanted for other various crimes and civil actions. This ultimately lead to his conviction and imprisonment on larceny charges. Gaston Bullock Means, a. ... For other uses of the initials FBI, see FBI (disambiguation). ... This page is a candidate to be copied to Wiktionary. ... Lindbergh baby kidnapping poster The Lindbergh kidnapping was the abduction and murder of the toddler son of world famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, Sr. ... In the United States, larceny is a common law crime involving stealing. ...

Evalyn Walsh McLean died of pneumonia and was buried in Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington D.C., in the Walsh family tomb. Rock Creek Cemetery (a. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United...

External links

• The Hope Diamond, PBS
• The Thomas Walsh Mansion, Embassy Row, Washington DC