Walter Halben Butler

Walter Halben Butler (February 13, 1852 – April 24, 1931) was a lawyer, teacher, newspaper publisher, and one-term Democratic U.S. Representative from Iowa's 4th congressional district, then located in northeastern Iowa.

Walter Halben Butler
Louisville Courier-Journal, December 31, 1894
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Iowa's 4th district
In office
1891–1893
Preceded byJoseph H. Sweney
Succeeded byThomas Updegraff
Personal details
Born(1852-02-13)February 13, 1852
Springboro, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedApril 24, 1931(1931-04-24) (aged 79)
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Resting placeForest Hill Cemetery, Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic

Biography

Born in Springboro, Pennsylvania on February 13, 1852,[1] Butler moved to Minnesota in 1868 with his parents, who settled in Mankato, in Blue Earth County.[2] He attended public and private schools, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1875.[2] He was a wrestler and sprinter there, and is credited as the first to run the 100-yard dash in 10 seconds.[3]

After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1875 and commenced practice in Princeton, Wisconsin.[2] He moved to Iowa in 1876 and taught school at La Porte City until 1878, and at Manchester until 1880.[2]

He moved to West Union, Iowa, in 1883 and became owner and publisher of the Fayette County Union.[2] From 1885 to 1889, he served as superintendent of the Railway Mail Service's tenth division, at St. Paul, Minnesota.[2] He returned to West Union, and resumed his former newspaper pursuits.[2]

In 1890, Butler was nominated as a Democrat to run against incumbent Republican U.S. House Representative Joseph Henry Sweney from the 4th congressional district.[2] After defeating Sweney in the general election as part of a Democratic landslide, he served in the Fifty-second Congress.[2] In 1892 he was defeated in his first re-election bid, by former Republican Congressman Thomas Updegraff.[2] Butler served in Congress from March 4, 1891 to March 3, 1893.[2]

After leaving Congress, he returned to northeastern Iowa for five years.[2] He moved to Des Moines, Iowa, in 1897 and to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1907.[2] He engaged in the real estate and loan business and, later in banking.[2] He died in Kansas City on April 24, 1931.[2][3] He was interred at Forest Hill Cemetery in Kansas City.[2]

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References
  1. History of Iowa, p. 35.
  2. Iowa Biographical Dictionary, p. 120.
  3. "First 10-Second Man and Legislator Dies". Jefferson City Post-Tribune. April 24, 1931. p. 1. Retrieved March 6, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.

Sources

Books
  • Gue, Benjamin F. (1903). History of Iowa. IV, Iowa Biography. New York, NY: The century History Company.
  • Onofrio, Jan (2000). Iowa Biographical Dictionary. St. Clair Shores, MI: Somerset Publishers, Inc. ISBN 978-0-403-09304-5.
Preceded by
Joseph H. Sweney		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Iowa's 4th congressional district
1891–1893		 Succeeded by
Thomas Updegraff

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.

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