Bert S. Butler

(1877–1960 )

1995 Inductee from Mining's Past

Bert S. Butler was born in Gainsville, New York, in 1877. He completed his undergraduate degree in geology at Cornell University in 1905 and a Masters degree in 1907, after which he joined the U.S. Geological Survey.

Dr. Butler's distinguished Survey career continued until 1927 and included studies of ore deposits of Utah, Michigan, the southern Rocky Mountain region, and the Colorado Plateau. In 1927, Dr. Butler joined the faculty of the University of Arizona and the next year was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Colorado School of Mines. From 1931 to 1948, he was head of the University of Arizona Geology Department and became one of the deans of North American geology.

Dr. Butler was for 28 years the Associate Editor of Economic Geology, the Journal of the Society of Economic Geology and was its president in 1932. In 1947, he received the "Penrose Medal", the Society's highest award. Dr. Butler’s name has a "starred" inclusion in American Men of Science and his bibliography includes over eighty citations. The true legacy is with Dr. Butler's students, contemporaries, friends, and associates, who all benefited greatly from the wisdom and experience of this superlative teacher-scientist.

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