John McLean (Illinois politician)

John McLean
United States Senator from Illinois
In office November 24, 1824 – March 3, 1825
Preceded by	Ninian Edwards
Succeeded by	Elias Kane
In office March 4, 1829 – October 14, 1830
Preceded by	Jesse B. Thomas
Succeeded by	David J. Baker
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's at-large congressional district
In office December 3, 1818 – March 3, 1819
Preceded by	Inaugural Holder
Succeeded by	Daniel P. Cook
2nd and 6th Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives
In office December 4, 1820 – December 2, 1822
Preceded by	John Messenger
Succeeded by	William M. Alexander
In office December 4, 1826 – March 4, 1829
Preceded by	David Blackwell
Succeeded by	William Lee D. Ewing
Personal details
Born	February 4, 1791 Greensboro, North Carolina
Died	October 14, 1830 (aged 39) Shawneetown, Illinois
Political party	Democratic-Republican Democratic
Profession	lawyer
Religion	Christian

John McLean (February 4, 1791 – October 14, 1830) was a United States Representative and a Senator from Illinois. He was the brother of Finis McLean and uncle of James David Walker.

Born near Guilford Court House (now Greensboro), Guilford County, North Carolina, February 4, 1791, McLean moved with his parents to Logan County, Kentucky in 1795. He moved to Illinois Territory in 1815. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Shawneetown, Gallatin County, Illinois. When Illinois was admitted as a State into the Union, McLean was elected to the Fifteenth Congress and served from December 3, 1818, to March 3, 1819. He failed to be re-elected in 1818 to the Sixteenth Congress. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for congress in the 1820 and 1822 elections. He was elected to the Illinois State House of Representatives in 1820, 1826, and 1828, and served as speaker.

In 1824, McLean was elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Ninian Edwards and served from November 23, 1824 to March 3, 1825. He was unsuccessful in a bid for re-election, not managing to get more than 12 votes of the 27 needed in the legislature through 10 ballots,^[1] but resumed the practice of law.

He was again elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1829, until his death, aged 39, in Shawneetown, Illinois in 1830. He was interred in Westwood Cemetery, near Shawneetown.

Legacy

McLean County, Illinois is named after him.^[2]

References

1. Edwardsville Spectator, Dec. 7, 1824.
2. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 194.

External links

• John McLean at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.