Paul Davidson Maclean was the brother of Norman Maclean, a Scottish-American professor, and author. Paul, born in 1905, was homeschooled with his older brother up to 1913. After his high school education, Paul joined Dartmouth College, and years later, he graduated and started his journalism career.
Paul had talent but didn’t get to write his work before being killed. He was also good at fly fishing but had his negative side as he suffered from alcoholism and gambling addiction. Besides, Paul was also a womanizer and a brawler. Paul’s brother said that all of Paul’s addiction and negative behaviors could be traced back to their ancestors. His family tried to offer help with his addictions and bad behaviors, but Paul rejected it.
Career and Personal Life
He was an investigative journalist and did not shy away from exposing political corruption in Helena, Montana, which was linked to Anaconda Copper Mining Company. Paul also worked at the University of Chicago during the Depression and the Jazz age alongside his brother and sister-in-law.
In his personal life, it is unclear if Paul Davidson was in any relationship before his death. But he did not leave behind any children.
His Brother
Norman was homeschooled just like his brother, and he loved how his father read aloud to them. At 14, Paul’s brother wanted to enlist in the American Expeditionary Force, but he was too young; fortunately, he found work with the United States Forest Service.
Paul’s father later went to Dartmouth College and served as editor-in-chief of Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern, a humor magazine. While in college, he attended creative writing classes taught by Robert Frost, and he learned a lot which impacted his life as an author and professor.
Even after completing his studies at Dartmouth, Norman remained in the institution’s town serving as an instructor for two years. He taught at the University of Chicago, teaching John Paul Stevens, a former U.S supreme court judge, in one of his poetry classes.
Norman Maclean died in 1990; his body was cremated, and ashes spread over Montana mountains.
Death
On May 2, 1937, Paul Davidson Maclean was mugged and brutally beaten by two men at 63rd Street and Drexel Avenue in Chicago; they stole every penny from his wallet before driving away in a car. Paul was rushed to the nearest hospital but died on the same day afternoon.
Norman Maclean and a detective investigating the case indicated that Paul Maclean fought back against his attackers even to the extent of breaking the bones on his right hand but unfortunately succumbed to injuries. According to an investigation, the investigative officer indicated that Paul’s murder was a robbery that had gone bad.
There was also a theory that Paul Maclean was murdered for refusing to pay a debt he owed someone due to gambling, though the case was never resolved. Paul’s death negatively affected his father as he aged rapidly and could only derive comfort from his faith.