Leo Brent Bozell (; October 13, 1886 – March 24, 1946) was an American

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

executive who co-founded the

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...

now known as

Bozell Bozell is an American full-service public relations and advertising agency in Omaha, Nebraska. History Bozell traces its roots to the company founded in 1921 in Omaha, Nebraska by Leo B. Bozell, Leo Bozell and Morris Jacobs as Bozell & Jacob ...

Life and career

Bozell was born in

Mitchell County, Kansas Mitchell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Beloit. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 5,796. The county was named for William Mitchell. History Early history For m ...

, the son of Clarinda J. (Wallis) and Oscar Bozell. He graduated from the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

in 1910, then worked in the news department of the ''

Wichita Eagle ''The Wichita Eagle'' is a daily newspaper published in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Originating in the early 1870s, shortly after the city's founding, it is owned by The McClatchy Company and is the largest newspaper in Wichita and the surr ...

''. He co-founded Bozell & Jacobs with Morris E. Jacobs in 1921. Headquartered in Omaha, the advertising agency he founded also had offices in Indianapolis, Shreveport, Houston and Dallas at the time of his death. The firm specialized in services to public utilities. Bozell was a veteran of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and later a lieutenant colonel in the

Nebraska State Guard The Nebraska State Guard (NSG) is the currently inactive state defense force of the state of Nebraska, which was activated during both World War II and the Vietnam War. As a state defense force, the NSG served on as a component of the organized mil ...

, which was activated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He served as president of the Omaha

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

and commander of the Omaha branch of the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

. He held a leadership role in his local Episcopal Church. He served as a director of the Omaha & Council Bluffs Street Railway Company, and testified before the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

on their behalf. He died of a heart ailment at his home in Omaha on March 24, 1946 at the age of 59.

Family

His son

L. Brent Bozell Jr. Leo Brent Bozell Jr. (; January 15, 1926 – April 15, 1997) was an American conservative activist and Catholic writer, and former United States Merchant Mariner. He was a conservative Catholic, and a strong supporter of the anti-abortion mov ...

was an American conservative activist and Catholic writer. His daughter-in-law was author Patricia Buckley Bozell. His grandson is author and activist

L. Brent Bozell III Leo Brent Bozell III ( ; born July 14, 1955) is an American conservative activist and writer. Bozell is the founder of the Media Research Center, an organization whose purpose is to identify liberal media bias. In 2025, Bozell was nominated by ...

References

External links

Bozell corporate history
1886 births 1946 deaths American advertising executives People from Rice County, Kansas University of Kansas alumni Businesspeople from Kansas 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1880s-stub