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Clan MacBean have long been an impressive and accomplished family. Over the years, members of the clan have achieved great things in a vast range of fields, from military exploits producing many Generals to clothing design and photography to sporting feats, and even space travel! Read on to meet a few of Clan MacBean’s most striking characters.
Meet the Famous MacBeans
Alan LaVern Bean
Alan LaVern Bean was born on 15th March 1932 in Wheeler, Texas and displayed an adventurous spirit from a young age, being a dedicated Boy Scout and earning the rank of First Class. After graduating high school, his taste for adventure led him to the U.S Naval Reserve, where he served several years. This experience also gave him a golden opportunity to advance his education, and he achieved a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1955 at the University of Texas on a Navy Reserve Officers Training Corps scholarship.
After completion, he embarked on a 4-year tour of duty, before attending the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School in Maryland, logging more than 7,145 hours of flying time, including 4,890 hours in jet aircraft!
This talent for flying caught the eyes of NASA, and in 1963, Captain Alan Bean was selected to be one of their astronauts. He set off on the Apollo 12 mission in November 1969, traveling 250,000 miles and braving a treacherous launch, surviving a dangerously timed lightning strike. On the mission, Bean became the 4th person to land on the Moon, and also made Clan MacBean the first clan to take their tartan to space!
Bean used the amazing occasion to honour his heritage, taking a piece of MacBean tartan with him onto the surface of the Moon itself. He attached a small portion to a painting which he then presented to the clan at its 1996 gathering.
After the Apollo 12 mission, he continued to work with NASA, serving as backup commander for the Apollo 14 mission. He also flew on the Skylab space station in 1973, when he spent 59 days in space, conducting scientific experiments and performing spacewalks. During this mission, the crew covered a world record setting 24.4 million miles.
Bean retired from NASA in 1981 and went on to focus on his career as an artist, specialising in space-themed paintings. His artwork often featured vivid depictions of his memories of being on the moon, and he gained widespread popularity.
He passed away on the 26th May 2018, but continues to inspire new generations of scientists, astronauts, and artists, as well as remaining a beloved and legendary member of Clan MacBean.
Marnie McBean
Our next famous face has also achieved some incredible feats, travelling not in space, but in water.
Marnie Elizabeth McBean is a decorated athlete, former Canadian rower, and Olympic champion. Born on the 5th December 1968 in Toronto, McBean has drawn mass amounts of praise for her perseverance, dedication, and exceptional talent.
She began her rowing career in the early 1990s after graduating from the University of Western Ontario. Her first big success was the 1992 Summer Olympics, where she won gold medals in both the coxless pairs and eights events. This was just the start of a sparkling career, and she went on to win the Princess Royal Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta soon after.
McBean’s star continued to grow at the 1996 Olympics, where she competed in the double and quadruple races, winning gold in the double and bronze in the quadruple. This made her, along with her rowing partner Kathleen Heddle, the first Canadian to win 3 Olympic gold medals.
McBean retired from competitive rowing in 2000, after having been forced to withdraw from the Sydney Olympics due to a back injury. However, her talent continues to be recognised. In 2002, she was awarded the Thomas Keller Medal by FISA, the International Rowing Federation, to commemorate her outstanding career, and in 2013, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
She even went to the Olympics once again, having been appointed as Chef de Mission, or manager, of Canada’s team at Tokyo 2020/2021.
McBean is also admirable for the effort she puts in to helping her community. In 2015, McBean was given the Bonham Centre Award from the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies for increasing awareness and understanding of sexual diversity. She has also served on many boards that focus on the health and activity of Canada’s young people and is dedicated to a number of social justice groups, including You Can Play, Her Mark, and Fast and Female. We’re sure Clan MacBean feel proud to have such a character among their ranks!
Leon Leonwood Bean
Our final famous face for today founded an American brand that you may be familiar with.
Leon Leonwood Bean was born on the 13th October 1872 in the small town of Greenwood, Maine. He grew up as one of 6 brothers and showed an early flair for business, selling steel traps at local fairs at only 9 years old! He also developed a passion for hunting, killing his first deer at 13, and selling his first deer at 14.
It was this love of the outdoors that inspired Bean to start what would become the hugely successful L.L.Bean. As a keen hunter and fisherman, Bean often ended up frustrated that his boots would end up soaked in water, so he resolved to come up with a solution, and developed waterproof boots.
He took his plans to a cobbler and the first iteration of the product was made and prepared for mail-order. Bean was so dedicated to providing high quality customer service, that he promised a 100% refund to anyone who was unhappy with the boots. Unfortunately, that meant he had to refund 90% of the costs of the first set of 100, as the rubber on the soles started to develop cracks.
Despite this, the potential was clear, and Bean was not discouraged. He took out a loan of $400 and paid the United States Rubber Company to produce a higher quality shoe for him. With his new and improved stock, he set up a shop in his brother’s basement and quickly gained popularity, being mentioned in local and national newspapers. By 1917, he had made enough of a profit to buy a dedicated store on the main street of Freeport, Maine. One year later, Bean patented his invention and went on to produce more outdoor wear and equipment, starting to expand his shop into what L.L.Bean is today.
From there on out, his success only continued to grow. During World War II, the company served as a consultant for the U.S. Army and Navy, and manufactured a version of their Maine Hunting Shoe for military use. By 1946, the business’ gross sales amounted to $1 million, and had risen to $3 million by 1967!
Bean himself had also become somewhat of a legend, having published 2 popular books, one in 1942 called ‘Hunting, Fishing and Camping,’ and the second in 1960, called ‘My Story: The Autobiography of a Down-East Merchant.’
Bean died in Pompano Beach, Florida on the 5th February 1967 at the age of 94, and was buried in his home state of Maine. He was honoured at the Maine Medical Centre, with a portrait hung in the building as well as a wing with his name.
Angus Rowland McBean
Two more notable Clan MacBean members worth a mention are photographer Angus Rowland McBean and ‘the Expert Swordsman’ Donald McBane.
Angus Rowland McBean was a Welsh photographer whose father was of Scottish descent. McBean was born on 8th June 1904 and died on 9th June 1990, one day after his 86th birthday. He grew up in Newbridge, Monmouthshire, attended Monmouth School and then Newport Technical College where he became fascinated by the process of photography. In order to buy his equipment he sold his grandfather’s gold watch which had been left to him.
McBean also had a strong interest in amateur dramatics and helped to create sets, props and costumes for productions at the Lyceum Theatre in Monmouth. After his father died, he moved with his mother and sister to West Acton, London, and spent seven years working in the antiques department in Liberty’s department store. Outside work, McBean spent time working on his photography, making masks and going to see West End plays.
His masks became famous and caught the eye of Hugh Cecil, a prominent London West End photographer. He offered Angus a job at his studio on New Grafton Street, and this is where Angus learnt lots of techniques, which led him to set up his own London studio a year and a half later. Angus McBean became one of the most important portrait photographers of his time, often photographing celebrities, and later also productions at theatres and commissions for magazines and music albums. McBean’s influence on photography continues to this day, especially in advertising.
Donald McBane
Donald McBane was born in Inverness, Scotland, sometime in 1664 and is regarded as one of the finest swordsmen in history. When McBane was around 23 years old he enlisted in the British Army, serving under General John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough, having run away from his tobacco spinner apprenticeship. McBane also worked as a fencing master, and says he took part in almost a hundred duels.
McBane recounts his incredible story in his autobiography, which was published in Glasgow in 1728, titled ‘The Expert Swordsman’s Companion’ or ‘The True Art of Self Defense’. The book is often used in the study of Scottish swordsmanship.
During The War of the Spanish Succession he was involved in 15 skirmishes and 16 battles including Blenheim in 1704 and Malplaquet in 1709. His escape from the Battle of Killiecrankie became immortalized – where he jumped 18 feet across the River Garry is known to this day as ‘the Soldier’s Leap’.
McBane supposedly kept fencing until 63, and died on 12th April 1732, aged around 68.
We hope you are feeling impressed and inspired by the accomplished Clan MacBean! If you would like to learn more about this fascinating family, head over to our Clan MacBean page, and make sure to keep an eye out for the rest of this month’s content.
Image Sources:
Alan Bean by NASA / Johnson Space Center (NASA-JSC)
Location of the finish tower used for the canoe sprint and rowing events at Lake Lanier in Georgia for the 1996 Summer Olympics held in neighboring Atlanta. by Chris (talk) - I (Chris (talk)) created this work entirely by myself., Public Domain
A picture of Leon Leonwood Bean by US Government - http://www.maine.gov/sos/kids/about/people/ll_bean.htm, Public Domain
L.L. Bean entrance and boot, Freeport, Maine by Seasider53 - Own work, CC BY 4.0
Memorial to Angus McBean by Lairich Rig, CC BY-SA 2.0
