Robert N. Butler

Robert Neil Butler (January 21, 1927 – July 4, 2010) was a physician, gerontologist, psychiatrist, and author, who was the first director of the National Institute on Aging. Butler is known for his work on the social needs and the rights of the elderly and for his research on healthy aging and the dementias.

Early life and education

Butler was born in Manhattan, New York City. He was raised by his grandparents after his parents abandoned him, and this sparked his lifelong interest in aging and the elderly. He earned his B.A. degree from Columbia University in 1952 and his M.D. degree from the University of Chicago in 1955.

Career

Butler became a professor of Geriatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1968, where he created the first department of geriatrics in a U.S. medical school. He was the founding director of the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health, serving from 1975 to 1982. In 1982, he founded the International Longevity Center in New York City, a think tank on issues related to longevity and aging.

Awards and honors

Butler won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1976 for his book Why Survive? Being Old in America. He was also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the World Economic Forum.

Death

Butler died on July 4, 2010, in New York City.

See also

• Gerontology
• Aging
• National Institute on Aging

References

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External links

• Obituary in The New York Times

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