Barnard, Chester

Barnard, Chester (Irving)

(1886–1961) businessman, public official, foundation executive; born in Malden, Mass. After working as an engineer with the American Telephone and Telegraph Company in Boston (1909–22), he moved on to head the Pennsylvania and then New Jersey Bell companies (1922–48). He served on various civic boards and during World War II was president of the United Service Organizations for National Defense (1942–45) and director of the National War Fund (1943–46). After the war he was a U.S. representative on the Atomic Energy Committee and he chaired various science foundations. His later reputation derives from his books, The Functions of the Executive (1938) and Organization and Management (1948).