Andrew MacLeish (26 June 1838 – 14 January 1928) was a Scottish and American businessman.

Life and career

MacLeish was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, to Agnes (Lindsay) and Archibald MacLeish. He received his education at the Glasgow Normal Academy, Hardy's English Academy and Flint's Commercial Academy. He worked in Glasgow and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1855 and 1856. That same year he immigrated to the United States, settling in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He spent six years as an employee of J. D. Sherman and J. G. Shay and was a member of J. B. Shay & Co. from 1864 to 1866. In 1867 he joined Carson, Pirie Scott & Co. and established the firm's retail department store. Along with

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...

, MacLeish was a co-founder of the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He remained head of the store until his death in 1928. Archibald MacLeish, in writing of his father, said: “My father came from a very old country in the north and far away, and he belonged to an old strange race, the race older than any other. He did not talk of his country but he sang bits of old songs with words that he said no one could understand anymore.” MacLeish died in Glencoe. His third wife was Martha Hillard. She was a daughter of Rev. Elias Brewster HillardJames, p. 473 and Julia Whittlesey.Lisle, pp. 1-5 A graduate of

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States, closely follo ...

, she was a college professor and had served as president of

Rockford College Rockford or Rockfords may refer to: Places United States * Rockford, Illinois, a city, the largest municipality of this name *Rockford, Alabama, a town * Rockford, Idaho, a census-designated place * Rockford metropolitan area, Illinois, a United S ...

,Addams, p. 32 and was influenced by the writings of Milicent Washburn Shinn.James, p. 473 Their son,

Archibald Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon . Erkanbald, bishop of ...

became Librarian of Congress. Another son,

Kenneth Kenneth is an English given name and surname. The name is an Anglicised form of two entirely different Gaelic personal names: ''Cainnech'' and '' Cináed''. The modern Gaelic form of ''Cainnech'' is ''Coinneach''; the name was derived from a byn ...

, was an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. A Naval aviator, he received the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

posthumously for his combat actions. MacLeish's great-grandson by his second wife is Bruce MacLeish Dern, (b. 1936), an American film actor, and his great-great-granddaughter is actress Laura Elizabeth Dern.Bruce Dern Biography (1936-)
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macleish, Andrew 1838 births 1928 deaths American businesspeople Businesspeople from Glasgow University of Chicago people British emigrants to the United States Dern family

Life and career

Further reading

References