Wharton Barker (May 1, 1846 – April 9, 1921) was an American financier and publicist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1866, but prior to this time had organized and commanded a company in the Civil War. As a member of the banking firm of Barker Bros. & Co., he was appointed (1878) special financial agent of the Russian government. In this capacity he was entrusted with the building of four cruisers and was called to Russia to advise in the development of coal and iron mines. He also obtained valuable railroad, telegraph, and telephone concessions (later withdrawn) from China. As early as 1869 he founded the Penn Monthly, a weekly devoted to political, economic, and social questions, which in 1880-1900 was published under the name The