Amos Butler

Amos William Butler (1 October 1860 – 5 August 1937) was an American naturalist and prison reformer.

Amos Butler
Born	(1860-10-01)October 1, 1860 Brookville, Indiana, U.S.
Died	August 5, 1937(1937-08-05) (aged 76)
Resting place	Crown Hill Cemetery and Arboretum, Section 33, Lot 125
Citizenship	United States
Education	Hanover College
Alma mater	Indiana University
Occupation	Naturalist
Spouse	Mary I. Reynolds
Children	Carrie Butler Watts
Parent(s)	Hannah Wright Butler William W. Butler

Early life and education

Amos Butler was born on 1 October 1860 in Brookville, Indiana to mother Hannah Wright Butler and father William W. Butler.^[1][2] Amos Butler's grandfather, also named Amos Butler, was the first settler of Brookville.^[1] Starting in 1877, Butler attended Hanover College. He then went on to attend Indiana University Bloomington, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa^[1] and Sigma Xi, an honorary scientific fraternity.^[3]

Career

Butler founded several organizations, including the Brookville Society of Natural History in 1881, the Indiana Academy of Science in 1885,^[4] and the International Committee on Mental Hygiene^[5] He was also a member of several other organizations, including the American Ornithologists' Union, Wilson Ornithological Club, the Biological Society of Washington, the Cincinnati Society of Natural History, and the Nature Study Club of Indiana.^[6] From 1897 to 1923, Butler was the Secretary of the Indiana Board of State Charities where he began researching prison reform and mental disabilities.^[5][7] During his career, he would serve as the president of the National Conference of Social Work and the American Prison Congress, and he would be appointed the U.S. delegate to the International Prison Congress three times.^[8] He retired in 1930 and began researching the native peoples of Indiana which include research on silver trading at Fort Ouiatenon.^[8]

Honors

Butler had a species of fish, Poecilia butleri^[9] and snake, Butler's garter snake (Thamnophis butleri), named after him.^[10] A chapter of the National Audubon Society in Central Indiana is called the Amos Butler Audubon Society.^[11] In 1903, Butler's biography was included in Who's Who in America.^[12] In 1910, his biography was included in American Men of Science.^[13]

Personal life

Butler married Mary I. Reynolds^[14] and had at least one child, a daughter named Carrie Butler Watts.^[3]