He was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and earned a master's degree in economics from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1941.

[2] He served in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1945, during World War II, with subchaser duty in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

[2] After Barr returned from the war, he engaged in the operation of grain elevators, theaters, real estate and publishing businesses.

In 1958, he defeated Charles B. Brownson for a seat in Congress from Indiana's 11th congressional district, a Republican stronghold.

[2] Barr died of a heart attack in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, and was interred in Leeds Episcopal Church Cemetery in Hume, Virginia.