SUDDEN DEATH

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22316, 29 April 1947, Page 3

SUDDEN DEATH

HOPE DIAMOND OWNER ILL-OMENED GEM j WASHINGTON, April 2G. J The death has occurred of Mrs EvaI 'T n Walsh McLean, aged GO, a leading Washington hostess and owner of the reputedly ill-omened Hope Diamond. She had been ill for several days with pneumonia. She was the widow of the former newspaper magnate Edward Beale McLean and daughter of an Irish immigrant, Thomas Walsh, who made a huge fortune from the Colorado gold mines. She lived the early years of her life in mining shacks and came to Washington in 181)7. She subsequently established the mansion named "Friendship" where she lavishly entertained many notable people. . The Hope diamond, which weighs 44| carats and is reported to be worth 2.000.000 dollars, was a gift from Mrs McLean's husband. A brilliant bluish stone, it is bclievedly part of a larger diamond from the French Crown Jewels. The larger gem was stolen and never reappeared. The Hope diamond derived its name from its purchase by Mr H. T. Hope for 90.000 dollars more than 50 years ago. It is supposed always to bring misfortune to its owner. Mrs McLean's marriage broke up and her husband eventually died penniless in a mental hospital. The eldest son was Killed by a motor car in 1918, and the only daughter Evalyn, wife of the former Senator Robert Reynolds, died mysteriously seven months ago, the doctor saying a possible cause of death was an overdose of sleeping pills. Two sons survive.