James Henry McLean (August 13, 1829 – August 12, 1886) was a

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from

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Biography

Born in Ayrshire, Scotland, McLean was raised in

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, Canada, where his father was manager of the Albion Mining Company. Having begun studying medicine with the mining company's resident physician, in 1842 he accepted $200 from his father, intending to sail to the United States and pursue a career in the medical field. He stayed aboard ship so he could visit

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, then lived in

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before settling in

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, in 1842. McLean secured a position as a clerk in a drug store, and continued to learn the medical profession, including courses at the

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. McLean was briefly employed as a clerk for a mining company in Minersville. In 1849 he moved to

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, where he made a profit in the sale of building lots and he began a career in the

patent medicine A patent medicine, sometimes called a proprietary medicine, is an over-the-counter (nonprescription) medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name (and sometimes a patent) and claimed ...

business as a partner in a venture to distribute a medicine, George A. Westbrook's "Mexican Mustang Liniment", which was touted as being for man, horse, and other beasts.Fike 1987:135-136; ''New York Daily Tribune'', April 26, 1873, in Wilson 1981:41 In 1850 he moved to

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, where his success at turning a profit by purchasing and then re-selling the only supply of turpentine then available in the city led to his taking charge of finances for the

Narciso López Narciso López (November 2, 1797, Caracas – September 1, 1851, Havana) was a Venezuelan-born adventurer and Spanish Army general who is best known for his expeditions aimed at liberating Cuba from Spanish rule in the 1850s. His troops carrie ...

expedition that attempted to liberate

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from control of

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. In 1851 McLean returned to St. Louis to continue his studies, and he resumed his work in patent medicine as the creator and distributor of "Dr. McLean's Volcanic Oil Liniment", a product that placed him in competition and caused controversy with his former partner in the "Mexican Mustang Liniment" venture. He graduated from the St. Louis Medical College in 1863, and continued expansion of his business enterprises, a monthly newspaper and almanacs. Sales of his patent medicines, including "McLean's Strengthening Cordial and Blood Purifier", were so successful that he employed an international sales force, and operated fleets of wagons, ships and railroad cars to facilitate their distribution. Mclean was elected as a

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to the Forty-seventh Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Thomas Allen and served from December 15, 1882, to March 3, 1883. During his career Mclean patented several inventions, including a dredging machine. In the early 1880s McLean patented an early version of the

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, which did not prove viable. As a devout Methodist, he opposed violence, and hoped that weapons capable of mass killing would prove to be so terrible that nations would be discouraged from going to war. He died in Dansville, New York, on August 12, 1886, and was buried at

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St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

References

James Henry McLean
in ''Saint Louis: The Future Great City of the World''. L. U. Reavis. 1876. Pages 705–707. * Fike, Richard E. 1987. ''The Bottle Book: A Comprehensive Guide to Historic, Embossed Medicine Bottles''. Peregrine Smith Books, Salt Lake City. * Wilson, Rex L. 1981. ''Bottles on the Western Frontier''. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson. * ''New York Daily Tribune''. April 26, 1873. Advertisement for Mexican Mustang Liniment. {{DEFAULTSORT:McLean, James Henry 1829 births 1886 deaths People from Ayrshire Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Nova Scotia Pre-Confederation Canadian emigrants to the United States American people of Scottish descent Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri Patent medicine businesspeople Politicians from St. Louis 19th-century American politicians