Robert Reyburn Butler (September 24, 1881 – January 7, 1933) was an American lawyer, politician, and jurist who served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

from 1928 to 1933.. He also served in the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the State legislature (United States), statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. Ther ...

and as a state circuit court judge in Oregon.

Early life

Butler was born in

Butler, Tennessee Butler is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Johnson County, Tennessee, Johnson County in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located along the northern shore of Watauga Lake. Butler is ser ...

, where he attended the public schools and then Holly Springs College.Robert R. Butler
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Accessed September 7, 2007. He was the son of Rebecca C. Grayson and William P. Butler,Corning, Howard M. ''Dictionary of Oregon History''. Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956. and a grandson of Congressman Roderick R. Butler. He graduated from

Cumberland School of Law The Cumberland School of Law is an American Bar Association, ABA-accredited law school at Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law sch ...

Lebanon, Tennessee Lebanon ( ) is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metro ...

, in 1903. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

and commenced practice in

Mountain City, Tennessee Mountain City is a town in and the county seat of Johnson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,415 at the 2020 census. It is the northeasternmost county seat in Tennessee. In addition, at an elevation of , it has the distinctio ...

. In 1906, Butler moved to

Condon, Oregon Condon is a city in and the county seat of Gilliam County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. The population was 682 at the 2010 census. The city, with an historic main street along Oregon Route 19, is a farming and ranching community. The John Day ...

, and resumed the practice of law. In 1911, Butler was married, with the marriage producing a single daughter.

Political career

In Oregon he served as mayor of Condon, before being appointed as circuit

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

for the eleventh judicial district of Oregon and served from February 1909 until his retirement in January 1911. He held court for

Sherman Sherman most commonly refers to: *Sherman (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname ** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General *M4 Sherman, a World War II American tank S ...

, Wheeler, and Gilliam counties in

Eastern Oregon Eastern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmost countie ...

. In 1911, he moved to

The Dalles, Oregon The Dalles ( ;) formally the City of the Dalles and also called Dalles City, is an inland port, the county seat of and the largest city in Wasco County, Oregon, Wasco County, Oregon, United States. The population was 16,010 at the 2020 United ...

, and resumed the practice of law. He served as member of the

twice, from 1913 to 1917, and again from 1925 to 1929. In 1928, Nicholas J. Sinnott resigned his position representing

Oregon's 2nd congressional district Oregon's 2nd congressional district is the largest of Oregon's Oregon's congressional districts, six districts, and is the List of United States congressional districts, seventh largest district in the nation. It is the second-largest congressi ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. Butler, a Republican, defeated

Walter M. Pierce Walter Marcus Pierce (May 30, 1861 – March 27, 1954) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served as the 17th Governor of Oregon and a member of the United States House of Representatives from . A native of Illinois, he served in the ...

in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to complete the remaining two months of Sinnott's term, and on the same day, was elected to the full term for the next Congress. Butler was re-elected to a second term in 1930, defeating Democrat Robert E. Bradford. In 1932, Butler faced his 1928 opponent Walter Pierce, but this time, Pierce won.

Death and burial

Shortly after the election, Butler fell ill with pneumonia and on January 7, 1933, died of heart failure in a

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

hospital. He was interred in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in The Dalles.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Robert Reyburn 1881 births 1933 deaths Republican Party Oregon state senators Politicians from The Dalles, Oregon Oregon state court judges Mayors of places in Oregon People from Johnson County, Tennessee Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon 20th-century American state court judges People from Condon, Oregon 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Oregon Legislative Assembly

Early life

Political career

Death and burial

See also

References

External links