Bruce Barton
| Bruce Fairchild Barton | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 17th district |
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In office November 2, 1937 – January 3, 1941 |
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| Preceded by | Theodore A. Peyser |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth F. Simpson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
August 5, 1886 Robbins, Tennessee |
| Died | July 5, 1967 (aged 80) New York City |
| Political party | Republican Party |
| Spouse(s) | Esther M. Randall |
| Children | Bruce Barton, Jr. Betsey Barton Randall Barton |
| Alma mater | Amherst College |
Bruce Fairchild Barton (August 5, 1886 – July 5, 1967) was an American author, advertising executive, and politician. He served in the U.S. Congress from 1937 to 1940 as a Republican from New York.
Born in Robbins, Tennessee in 1886, Barton was the son of a Congregational clergyman and grew up in various places throughout the U.S., including the metro Chicago area. Barton was raised in Oak Park, Illinois (located only ten miles away by railroads from Chicago).
Bruce Barton's father, William E. Barton, was a prolific writer and a devout Christian pastor serving the First Congregational Church for over 20 years. Barton's mother, Esther Treat Bushnell, was an elementary school teacher. Barton's siblings were Charles William Barton (b. 1887), Helen (b. 1889), Robert Shawmut Barton (b. 1894). Barton's parents also took-in a young abandoned mulatto boy to care for in the Barton household by the name of Webster Betty, as they also did for Rebecca, a young African-American girl whose mother asked Barton's parents to take care of her.
Journalism appealed to Barton even as a child and he sold newspapers in his free time when he was only nine. Later on during his teenage years, he served as the editor for his high school newspaper, and became a reporter for a local newspaper called the Oak Park Weekly. Barton also helped run his uncle's maple syrup business, which became successful due to his contributions.
Barton first enrolled in Berea College (where his father attended college) during 1903 and later transferred to Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1907.
Barton worked as a publicist and magazine editor before co-founding the Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO) advertising agency in 1919. Nine years later the agency merged with the George Batten agency to become Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BBDO). Barton replaced Roy S. Durstein as president of BBDO during 1939 and then headed the BBDO agency until 1961, all while helping his business partners and employees toward establishing Madison Avenue in New York City as the Mecca for the advertising industry, advancing institutional advertising for American corporations, and developing BBDO into one of the major creative advertising firms operating in the United States.
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