Nicholas Murray Butler

• 1. The Miraculous Scholar

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  Nicholas Murray Butler was born on the 2nd of April 1862 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. His father Henry worked as a manufacturing worker while his mother Mary named him after her family line. He entered Columbia College in the late 19th century and joined the Peithologian Society to debate philosophy. Butler earned his bachelor degree in 1882 followed by a master's degree in 1883. He completed his doctorate in 1884 with remarkable speed for that era. Theodore Roosevelt later called him Nicholas Miraculous due to these academic achievements. In 1885 he studied abroad in Paris and Berlin where he met future Secretary of State Elihu Root. This friendship connected him to both Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. By fall 1885 Butler joined the staff of Columbia's philosophy department. He co-founded the New York School for the Training of Teachers in 1887 alongside Grace Hoadley Dodge. That institution eventually became Teachers College at Columbia University.

• 2. Forty Three Years Of Power

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  Butler became acting president of Columbia University in 1901 before formally taking office in 1902. President Roosevelt attended his investiture ceremony among many other dignitaries. He held this position for forty three years until retiring in 1945. The longest tenure in university history marked his leadership style. Campus expansion projects added new buildings schools and departments during his rule. These additions included the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center which was the first academic medical center globally. A controversial policy emerged in 1919 when Butler amended admissions processes. He limited the number of Jewish students admitted to the school. It became the first American higher learning institution to establish such a quota. The policy reduced student numbers from New York City from fifty four percent down to twenty three percent. Critics later called him an anti semite because of these actions. In September 1931 he told freshmen that totalitarian systems produced stronger men than elections did.

• 3. Republican Conventions And Prohibition

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  Butler served as a delegate to every Republican National Convention from 1888 through 1936. When Vice President James S Sherman died six days before the election of 1912 Butler received electoral votes instead. The ticket won only eight votes from Utah and Vermont finishing third behind Democrats and Progressives. He tried securing the nomination for Elihu Root in 1916 without success. Butler also sought the presidential nomination himself in 1920 but failed. He believed prohibition caused negative effects on the country throughout his life. His active efforts contributed to the successful repeal of prohibition in 1933. John W Burgess along with Alexander Hamilton provided philosophical basis for his Republican principles. In June 1936 he traveled to London for a peace conference about money and finance problems. These political activities shaped his public image alongside his academic work.

• 4. Silence On Nazi Germany

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  Historian Stephen H Norwood noted Butler failed to grasp implications of Nazism early on. He was influenced by private antisemitism and economic conservatism regarding trade unions. A longtime admirer of Benito Mussolini compared the Italian leader to Oliver Cromwell. In the 1920s he noted stupendous improvements Fascism brought to Italy. November 1933 arrived months after book burnings began when he welcomed Hans Luther German ambassador. He refused to appear with notable German dissidents visiting the university that year. Robert Burke class president of 1938 led an anti-Nazi protest on campus in 1936. Butler permanently expelled Burke from Columbia University over this incident. Critics criticized his remarkable silence toward Hitler's regime until late 1930s. He only unambiguously condemned Nazi Germany after Kristallnacht occurred. This stance contrasted sharply with his international peace efforts elsewhere.

• 5. The Nobel Peace Prize Winner

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  Butler chaired Lake Mohonk Conference on International Arbitration from 1907 to 1912. He persuaded Andrew Carnegie to provide ten million dollars initial funding for peace work. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace became a major organization under his leadership. He founded European branch headquarters in Paris as head of international education. Butler served as President of the Endowment from 1925 through 1945. He received the Nobel Peace Prize for 1931 sharing it with Jane Addams. His promotion of Kellogg Briand pact earned him this global recognition. In December 1916 Butler and other philanthropists purchased Château de Chavaniac in France. They bought birthplace of Marquis de Lafayette to serve as French Heroes Memorial Fund headquarters. Beatrice Ashley Chanler managed fund operations as ex wife of William Astor Chanler. Butler also led Pilgrims Society promoting Anglo American friendship from 1928 to 1946.

• 6. Blindness And Final Years

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  Butler married Susanna Edwards Schuyler in 1887 who died in 1903 leaving one daughter. He remarried Kate La Montagne granddaughter of Thomas E Davis property developer in 1907. His autobiography second volume Across Busy Years published in 1940 completed his written legacy. Almost complete blindness struck him in 1945 at age eighty three years old. He resigned all posts he held after losing sight completely. Two years later on the 7th of December 1947 he died. Interment took place at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Paterson New Jersey. Former student Rolfe Humphries published Draft Ode for Phi Beta Kappa Occasion in Poetry magazine 1939. The acrostic message spelled Nicholas Murray Butler is a horses ass hidden within lines. Editors ran formal apology upon discovering this insult against their former teacher. Dorothy Dunbar Bromley called his pronouncements interminable miasmas of guff in The American Mercury.