Percy Milton Butler (19 July 1912 – 7 February 2015) was a British

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

and

palaeontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure geolo ...

. He proposed that dental characters are expressed in morphogenetic gradients along the

dentition Dentition pertains to the development of teeth and their arrangement in the mouth. In particular, it is the characteristic arrangement, kind, and number of teeth in a given species at a given age. That is, the number, type, and morpho-physiology ...

, which could therefore be used to study evolution. This became known as Butler's Field Theory. He was Professor of Zoology at

Royal Holloway, University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

, where he was the Head of the Department of Zoology from 1956 to 1972, and where he established the first course on mammalogy in the UK.

Early life

He was born on 19 July 1912 in Lewisham, London, son of a civil servant, Herbert Butler, and his wife Amy. As a child he was already interested in natural history. He graduated and did his PhD under supervision of

Clive Forster-Cooper Sir Clive Forster-Cooper, FRS (3 April 1880 – 23 August 1947) was an English palaeontologist and director of the Cambridge University Museum of Zoology and Natural History Museum in London. He was the first to describe ''Paraceratherium'', al ...

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

Career

After receiving his undergraduate degree in 1933 Butler received Commonwealth Fund Fellowship to visit

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1936. He studied fossil mammal teeth in various museum collections and was associated with

William King Gregory William King Gregory (May 19, 1876 – December 29, 1970) was an American zoologist, primatologist, paleontologist, and functional and comparative anatomist. He was an expert on mammalian dentition, and a contributor to theories of evolution. H ...

at the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...

. He also collected fossil mammals, including a molar of

Megacerops ''Megacerops'' ("large-horned face", from '' méga-'' "large" + '' kéras'' "horn" + '' ōps'' "face") is an extinct genus of the prehistoric odd-toed ungulate (hoofed mammal) family Brontotheriidae, an extinct group of rhinoceros-like browsers ...

. His study of fossil teeth brought him to consider the mechanics of teeth, which led to his field theory, published in 1939. After appointments at Exeter and Manchester University, he joined

Royal Holloway College Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a member institution of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departmen ...

in 1956. He retired at 60, and as an emeritus professor turned to full-time research, much of it done at the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum (Lo ...

. Butler was an internationally recognised expert in the origins of early mammals from the

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era is the Era (geology), era of Earth's Geologic time scale, geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Period (geology), Periods. It is characterized by the dominance of archosaurian r ...

. He later got interested in

tertiary Tertiary (from Latin, meaning 'third' or 'of the third degree/order..') may refer to: * Tertiary period, an obsolete geologic period spanning from 66 to 2.6 million years ago * Tertiary (chemistry), a term describing bonding patterns in organic ch ...

mammals from East-Africa and the fauna of the

Olduvai Gorge The Olduvai Gorge or Oldupai Gorge in Tanzania is one of the most important paleoanthropology, paleoanthropological localities in the world; the many sites exposed by the gorge have proven invaluable in furthering understanding of early human evo ...

, on which he worked with

Louis Leakey Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey (7 August 1903 – 1 October 1972) was a Kenyan-British palaeoanthropologist and archaeologist whose work was important in demonstrating that humans evolved in Africa, particularly through discoveries made at Olduvai ...

. In his 80s he still worked on the early mammalian clade

Haramiyida Haramiyida is a possibly Paraphyly, paraphyletic order of Mammaliaformes, mammaliaform cynodonts or mammals of controversial taxonomic affinites. Their teeth, which are by far the most common remains, resemble those of the multituberculates. Howe ...

Awards and recognition

Butler was awarded the American Geological Association’s Gold Medal. In 1986, he received the silver medal of the city of Paris. In 1994, he received and honorary membership of the

Society of Vertebrate Paleontology The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) is a professional organization that was founded in the United States in 1940 to advance the science of vertebrate paleontology around the world. Mission and activities SVP has about 2,300 members inte ...

, and in 1996, received the society's prestigious

Romer-Simpson Medal The Romer-Simpson Medal is the highest award issued by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology for "sustained and outstanding scholarly excellence and service to the discipline of vertebrate paleontology". The award is named in honor of Alfred S. R ...

Personal life

Butler married Lillan Temple in 1941. He was a talented artist. His drawings feature in many of his publications and

held an exhibition of his watercolours.

References

External links

Tribute to Percy Milton Butler 1912–2015, J. Hooker (2017) Historical Biology, 30:1-2, 2-6DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2017.1338518
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Percy British palaeontologists 1912 births Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London 2015 deaths 20th-century British zoologists People from Lewisham Scientists from London British men centenarians