 Bartle was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and was the son of Glenn G. Bartle and Wanda M. Bartle.He was married to Doris Sponenberg Bartle (born 1927) from 1952 to 1982 and they had two sons, James A. Bartle (born 1955) and John R. Bartle (born 1958).He was on the faculty of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Illinois from 1955 to 1990.