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

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

gerontologist Gerontology ( ) is the study of the social, cultural, psychological, cognitive, and biological aspects of aging. The word was coined by Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov in 1903, from the Greek , ''geron'', "old man" and , ''-logia'', "study of". The ...

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

, and author, who was the first director of the

National Institute on Aging The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), located in Bethesda, Maryland. The NIA itself is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The NIA leads a broad scientific effort to understand the ...

. 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 Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affec ...

Background

Having grown up with his grandparents in

Vineland, New Jersey Vineland is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 60,780. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 61,156 ...

, Butler was shocked by the dismissive and contemptuous attitude toward the elderly and their diseases by many of his teachers at

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, ...

, an attitude he later characterized as "

ageism Ageism, also spelled agism, is discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, and patterned on sexism and racism. Butler d ...

". He graduated from

Columbia College of Columbia University Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college of Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded by the Church of England in 1754 as King's ...

, where he was editor of the ''

Columbia Daily Spectator The ''Columbia Daily Spectator'' (known colloquially as the ''Spec'') is the student newspaper of Columbia University. Founded in 1877, it is the oldest continuously operating college news daily in the nation after '' The Harvard Crimson'', and ha ...

'' and a member of the

Philolexian Society The Philolexian Society of Columbia University is one of the oldest college literary and debate societies in the United States, and the oldest student group at Columbia. Founded in 1802, the Society aims to "improve its members in Oratory, Compo ...

Career

Butler was a principal investigator of one of the first

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

, comprehensive,

longitudinal studies A longitudinal study (or longitudinal survey, or panel study) is a research design that involves repeated observations of the same variables (e.g., people) over short or long periods of time (i.e., uses longitudinal data). It is often a type of obs ...

of healthy community-residing older persons, conducted at the

National Institute of Mental Health The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH, in turn, is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the prima ...

(1955–1966), which resulted in the landmark book ''Human Aging''. His research helped establish the fact that

senility Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affec ...

was not inevitable with

aging Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

, but is a consequence of

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

. In 1969, he coined the term

to describe discrimination against seniors; the term was patterned on

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers pri ...

and

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagoni ...

. Butler defined "ageism" as a combination of three connected elements. Among them were prejudicial attitudes towards older people, old age, and the

aging process Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

; discriminatory practices against older people; and institutional practices and policies that perpetuate

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for exampl ...

s about elderly people. In 1975, he became the founding Director of the

(NIA) of the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the lat ...

, where he remained until 1982. At the National Institute on Aging he established

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As ...

as a national research priority. In 1982, he founded the Department of Geriatrics and Adult Development at the Mount Sinai Medical Center, the first department of

geriatrics Geriatrics, or geriatric medicine, is a medical specialty focused on providing care for the unique health needs of older adults. The term ''geriatrics'' originates from the Greek γέρων ''geron'' meaning "old man", and ιατρός ''iatros ...

in a United States

. In addition, Butler helped found the Alzheimer's Disease Association, the American Association of Geriatric Psychiatry, the American Federation for Aging Research and the Alliance for Aging Research. Butler was the founder, chief executive officer, and president of the

International Longevity Center The Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Columbia University. Located on the Columbia University Medical Center campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, the school ...

-USA, a non-profit international organization created to educate people on how to live longer and better. The International Longevity Center-USA is now housed at th
Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center
a university-wide center of Columbia University based at the Mailman School of Public Health

Publications

Butler is best known for his 1975 book '' Why Survive? Being Old In America'', which won the

Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are awarded annually for the "Letters, Drama, and Music" category. The award is given to a nonfiction book written by an American author and published duri ...

in 1976. A 2003 paperback edition is currently available ().

Recent books

* ''Aging and Mental Health: Positive Psychosocial and Biomedical Approaches'' (with Myrna I. Lewis and Trey Sunderland, 1998) () * ''Life in an Older America'' (2001) () * ''The New Love and Sex After 60'' (with Myrna I. Lewis, 2002) () * ''The Longevity Prescription: The 8 Proven Keys to a Long, Healthy Life'', 2010 (; ). Butler authored 300

scientific Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

and

medical Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...

articles.

Awards

Butler was the recipient of the 10th Annual

Heinz Award The Heinz Awards are individual achievement honors given annually by the Heinz Family Foundation. The Heinz Awards each year recognize outstanding individuals for their innovative contributions in three areas: the Arts, the Economy and the Enviro ...

in the Human Condition category. The award recognized his work in advancing the rights and needs of the nation's aging citizenry and enhancing the quality of life for elderly Americans. He received honorary degrees from the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...

in Sweden and the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

as well as other awards such as the Lienhard Medal of the Institute of Medicine and a Hall of Fame Award from the American Society of Aging.

Film appearance

Butler is featured in the 2009 documentary film, ''

I Remember Better When I Paint ''I Remember Better When I Paint'' is a feature length international documentary film about the positive impact of art and other creative therapies in people with Alzheimer's disease and how these approaches can change the way the disease is vi ...

'', which examines the positive impact of art on people with

and how these approaches can change the way the disease is viewed by society.

References

External links

Interview with Dr. Robert Butler on Baby Boomers and Creative Aging International Longevity Center-USA "A Last Conversation With Dr. Robert Butler, by JOSHUA TAPPER

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, July 7, 2010
Obituary, "Doctor who Worked to Change Perceptions of Ageing and the Aged"

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

, July 18, 2010
Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Robert Neil 1927 births 2010 deaths Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai faculty American gerontologists American medical academics People from Vineland, New Jersey Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction winners Columbia College (New York) alumni Deaths from leukemia 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American psychiatrists Members of the National Academy of Medicine National Institutes of Health people