Christian, Richard C. (Richard Carlton), 1924-2009

Richard Carlton Christian was born on November 29, 1924 in Dayton, Ohio. In 1942 Christian began his collegiate education at Denison University, Granville, Ohio, where he took classes in journalism in the hope of becoming a sports writer. A few months later he left for military service. For three years he served in the U.S. Army's 100th Infantry Division in the United States and Europe. From 1943 through 1944 Christian attended an engineering course at the Army Specialized Training Program at The Citadel, Charleston, South Carolina. In 1945 Christian attended the Biarritz American University, which was set up by the U.S. Army in Biarritz, France. The advertising course was taught by a professor named Joe Siebert from the University of North Carolina; he was the same professor who taught marketing research and advertising courses later at Miami University in Ohio.

After Christian returned to the U.S. he entered Miami University at Oxford, Ohio. While pursuing his studies he worked part-time in a marketing research firm associated with Joe Siebert, a Miami professor of marketing. Christian's main task was performing research studies for the Cincinnati Enquirer, Procter & Gamble, and the Weidemann Brewing Company in Cincinnati. He was elected to the honorary business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, and became associate member of Cincinnati chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA). After graduating in 1948 with a degree in business administration, Christian took his M.B.A. in business administration in 1949 from Northwestern University's School of Commerce. In the same year Christian married Audrey Bongartz.

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