A FEW WORDS ON BRUCE BARTON, WHOSE WORDS OF WISDOM WE SHARE WITH YOU TODAY....... 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 Chicago area. Barton was raised in the Oak Park area of Illinois and was his parents’ only child. His Father was a devout Christian and served as pastor for the First Congregational Church for over 20 years. His mother Esther Bushnell was an elementary school teacher. 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 enrolled in Berea College in 1903 and later transferred to Amherst College in Massachusetts.[4] He graduated from Amherst College in 1907. He 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 headed the agency until 1961, building it into one of the industrys leaders. Among other famous campaigns, he created the character of Betty Crocker.[5] He is also credited with naming General Motors and General Electric. Politically conservative, he offered his public relations expertise to many Republican candidates over the years. A staunch opponent of Roosevelt and the New Deal, he served two terms in the United States House of Representatives (1937–1941), and ran in 1940 unsuccessfully for U.S. Senator from New York. Barton was most famous, however, as the author of many bestselling guides to personal success. He also wrote literally hundreds of articles for popular magazines, offering readers advice and inspiration for pursuing the American dream. His most famous book was, The Man Nobody Knows (1925). In this book, Barton envisions Jesus as if he were alive in the present day; this paints a different picture of Jesus than people were used to during that time. He also depicts Jesus as a modern day businessman, similar to himself. Barton had many religious themes throughout his writing career, due to his strong religious convictions. It is even said that Barton’s primary motive for writing was religion.[4] One historian writes: Barton believed incurably in material progress, in self-improvement, in individualism, and in the Judeo-Christian ethic, and none of the profound crises through which his generation lived appreciably changed the tenor of his writings or their capacity to reflect what masses of Americans, optimists in the progressive tradition, apparently continued to want to hear. Bruce Barton died at his home at 117 East 55th Street in New York City in 1967. Barton was a descendant of the Rev. John Davenport, the founder of Yale University, and of New Haven, Connecticut, through his mother.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Jan 2014 05:21:46 +0000
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