A former member of the Malibu Township Council, Robert Frederick MacLeod of Malibu died on Monday.
After moving from Glen Elyn, Ill, he attended Dartmouth College, graduating in the class of ’39. The college named him “Man of the Year” in 1996, heralding his accomplishments as a captain of the first Dartmouth football team and beating Yale, Harvard and Princeton in the same season. In 1977, he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.
MacLeod volunteered as a Marine Corps pilot during Robert World War II and was cited for his leadership when, as one of two squadron leaders, he, together with other Marine flyers, shot down 21 enemy planes during an attempted Japanese raid on Guadalcanal, a battle that was the last big Japanese threat to regaining that island. Afterward, he was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps with the rank of major.
Returning to civilian life, he worked in the publishing industry for more than 40 years, including stints as editor for Town & Country, Harper’s Bazaar, Hearst Magazine, and as vice president of Peterson Publishing Co. and executive publisher of Teen magazine.