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  Barker, Wharton
CANDIDATE DETAILS
AffiliationMidroad-Populist  
  1898-10-01  
 
NameWharton Barker
Address
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , United States
EmailNone
WebsiteNone
Born May 01, 1846
DiedApril 08, 1921 (74 years)
ContributorRP
Last ModifedChronicler
Jan 29, 2022 07:04pm
Tags ACLU -
InfoBARKER, Wharton, financier and bimetallist leader (1846-1921).

Born 5/1/1846 in Philadelphia PA, son of Abraham and Sarah (Wharton) Barker. First cousin twice removed of Benjamin Franklin.

Education: Attended the Latin school of Charles Short. A.B., University of Pennsylvania, 1866; A.M. 1869. In 1867 he married Margaret Corlies, daughter of Joseph Baker.

In 1871, Barker joined the financial business Barker Brothers & Co. in Philadelphia.

Member, American Philosophical Society, Academy of Natural Sciences, Academy of the Political and Social Sciences, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Union League Club, and Manufacturers Club. In 1875 he organized the Penn Club, and was its president for a number of years. In 1870 he founded The Penn Monthly, of which he was the principal owner and chief editorial manager until 1881, when the publication was discontinued.

Worked in Russia intermittently in the late 1870s. Selected by the Russian government to purchase and build cruisers for the imperial navy. In 1875, Alexander II conferred upon him the cross of St. Stanislaus, second order. In 1879 he made a survey of the coal and iron fields in the Doritz country in the south of Russia, at the request of the Grand Duke Constantine and Prince Dolgorouki. Barker proposed a transportation network to transport raw materials for processing, but the project fell through when the Czar died.

Active supporter of the Garfield campaign, 1880. Founded the magazine The American, 1880, and was the first editor.

Board of Trustees, University of Pennsylvania 1880-1921, Treasurer of the Board 1882-1890.

In 1887, Barker worked with the Chinese ambassador to the USA, Chang Yen Hoon, to develop railroad, telephone, and telegraph lines in China. Like the Russia project, the proposal fell through while nearing the final planning phase due to larger political disagreements.

Active supporter of the Benjamin Harrison campaign, 1888.

Became affiliated with the Populist Party in 1893. Wrote a number of letters and gave addresses on bimetallism, becoming the best known leader of the movement in the northeast.

Visited China in the autumn of 1895 on the invitation of Li Hung Chang and other great officials whom he met at Shanghai and Peking.

President of the Finance Company of Pennsylvania; founder and director of the Investment Company of Philadelphia.

Candidate for President of the United States (Middle of the Road Populist), 1900. Had been associated with the anti-Marion Butler faction of the Populist Party since 1898, working against fusion with either the Democrats or Republicans.

Returned to fame in 1911 when he released information from a recently deceased business partner. Barker's associate worked with members of the TR administration on corporate matters, and in return gave a large sum of money to TR's 1904 campaign. The information was released while TR was preparing his 1912 insurgent campaign against Taft, and TR spent two months defending himself and attacking Barker. [NYT 11/29/1911, 11/30/1911, 12/18/1911]

In 1915, Barker was a chief supporter of Scott Nearing, an economics professor who was fired from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Barker feared that the action was taken upon religious grounds and would result in the ejection of all nonconformists and Jews from the faculty. [NYT 6/24/1915, 7/18/1915, 10/12/1915]

Died in his home in Philadelphia, 4/8/1921 [NYT 4/9/1921].

[Link]
Image source: Albert Shaw, The American Monthly Review of Reviews, 10/1898, p. 389.

JOB APPROVAL POLLS

BOOKS
Title Purchase Contributor

EVENTS
Start Date End Date Type Title Contributor

NEWS
Date Category Headline Article Contributor

DISCUSSION
Importance? 4.50000 Average

FAMILY
Wife Margaret Corlies "Mary" Baker Barker Oct 16, 1867-Apr 08, 1921
Son Samuel H. Barker 1872-1939
Son Rodman Barker 1873-1958
Son Folger Barker 1876-1933
Father Abraham Barker 1821-1906
Grandfather Jacob Barker 1779-1871

INFORMATION LINKS
RACES
  11/08/1910 PA - District 06 Lost 1.11% (-45.10%)
  01/14/1901 US President Lost 0.00% (-65.32%)
  11/06/1900 US President National Vote Lost 0.36% (-51.31%)
  09/03/1900 US President - UnRf National Convention Lost 0.05% (-83.65%)
  05/10/1900 US President - Populist (Middle of the Road) Convention Won 47.50% (+4.36%)
ENDORSEMENTS
US President National Vote - Nov 05, 1912 R Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt
US President - R Convention - Jun 27, 1912 R Albert B. Cummins
PA Governor - Nov 04, 1890 D Robert Emory Pattison
US President - R Convention - Jun 25, 1888 R Benjamin Harrison
US President - R Convention - Jun 08, 1880 R James A. Garfield