Robert N. Butler

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Robert N. Butler

Robert Neil Butler (January 21, 1927 – July 4, 2010) was an American 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.

Pronunciation

Robert N. Butler: /ˈrɒbərt ˈniːl ˈbʌtlər/

Etymology

The name Robert is of Germanic origin, meaning "bright fame". Neil is of Irish origin, meaning "cloud". Butler is an occupational surname of Old French origin, meaning "wine steward or bottle bearer".

Related Terms

  • Gerontology: The scientific study of old age, the process of aging, and the particular problems of old people.
  • Psychiatry: The medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders.
  • Dementia: A broad category of brain diseases that cause a long-term and often gradual decrease in the ability to think and remember.
  • National Institute on Aging: A division of the U.S National Institutes of Health (NIH), located in Bethesda, Maryland.

Career

Butler was a pioneer in the field of gerontology, coining the term "ageism" to refer to discrimination and stereotyping based on age. He was the founding director of the National Institute on Aging, a part of the National Institutes of Health. He also established the first department of geriatric medicine in the United States at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

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 a member of the Institute of Medicine.

External links

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