Walter Halben Butler (February 13, 1852 – April 24, 1931) was a lawyer, teacher, newspaper publisher, and one-term

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Iowa's 4th congressional district Iowa's 4th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its northwestern part, bordering the states of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, and the Missouri River. The district includes Sioux Ci ...

, then located in northeastern Iowa.

Biography

Born in

Springboro, Pennsylvania Springboro is a borough in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States, located 35 miles southwest of Erie. The population was 377 at the 2020 census, down from 477 at the 2010 census. History Incorporated as a borough in the spring of 1866, ...

on February 13, 1852, Butler moved to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

in 1868 with his parents, who settled in

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

, in Blue Earth County. He attended public and private schools, and graduated from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

in 1875. He was a wrestler and sprinter there, and is credited as the first to run the

100-yard dash 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

in 10 seconds. After studying law, 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 ...

in 1875 and commenced practice in Princeton, Wisconsin. He moved to

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

in 1876 and taught school at La Porte City until 1878, and at

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

until 1880. He moved to

West Union, Iowa West Union is a city in Fayette County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,490 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Fayette County. History Originally called Knob Prairie, the community was founded by William Wel ...

, in 1883 and became owner and publisher of the ''Fayette County Union''. From 1885 to 1889, he served as superintendent of the Railway Mail Service's tenth division, at

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center ...

. He returned to West Union, and resumed his former newspaper pursuits. 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. After defeating Sweney in the general election as part of a Democratic landslide, he served in the Fifty-second Congress. In 1892 he was defeated in his first re-election bid, by former Republican Congressman

Thomas Updegraff Thomas Updegraff (April 3, 1834 – October 4, 1910) was an American attorney, politician, and five-term Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from northeastern Iowa. His two periods of service were separated by ten years out ...

. Butler served in Congress from March 4, 1891 to March 3, 1893. After leaving Congress, he returned to northeastern Iowa for five years. He moved to

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moine ...

, in 1897 and to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1907. He engaged in the real estate and loan business and, later in banking. He died in Kansas City on April 24, 1931. He was interred at Forest Hill Calvary Cemetery in Kansas City.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Walter Halben 1852 births 1931 deaths People from Springboro, Pennsylvania University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa Politicians from Kansas City, Missouri Politicians from Des Moines, Iowa People from West Union, Iowa Politicians from Mankato, Minnesota Lawyers from Kansas City, Missouri