Archibald Granville Bush, chairman of the executive committee of the 3M Company, and his wife, Edyth Bassler Bush, brought their many giving efforts into focus by establishing the Bush Foundation in 1953.

Mr. Bush, a native of Granite Falls, Minnesota, joined Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) as a bookkeeper in 1909 for a salary of $11.55 per week. When he retired 40 years later, he was chairman of the executive committee, having amassed a personal fortune estimated at $300 million.

In 1919, Mr. Bush married Edyth Bassler of Chicago. She gave up her career as a dancer and actress but never lost her interest in the theater.

The Foundation’s income derives from assets given by Mr. and Mrs. Bush, primarily 3M stock.  After Mr. Bush's death, a portion of the Bush Foundation's assets were used to create the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation.