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Robert N. Butler

AKA Robert Neil Butler

Born: 21-Jan-1927
Birthplace: New York City
Died: 4-Jul-2010
Location of death: New York City
Cause of death: Cancer - Leukemia

Gender: Male
Religion: Unitarian
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Doctor, Activist
Party Affiliation: Democratic

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Expert on aging

Robert N. Butler's parents separated when he was an infant, leaving him in the care of his grandparents, and his grandfather died when he was seven years old, after which his aging grandmother took work as a seamstress and raised him alone. This perhaps helps explain Butler's strong interest in elder issues at an unusually early age. He began conducting pioneering research into health care for senior citizens almost as soon as he earned his medical degree, at Columbia University in 1952, and he became a leading expert on growing old while remaining healthy. He authored numerous books on the topic, some for popular consumption and other written for more academic audiences. His best-known books include Why Survive? Being Old In America, for which he won the Pulitzer Prize, and Sex after Sixty, written with his wife, Myrna I. Lewis. He was credited with coining the term "ageism" in 1968. He co-founded the Alzheimer's Association and the International Longevity Center USA, and remained active and involved in aging issues until his death at age 83 in 2010.

Wife: Diane McLaughlin (div., three daughters)
Daughter: Carole Butler Hall
Daughter: Christine Butler
Daughter: Cynthia Butler
Wife: Myrna Irene Lewis (social worker, b. 1938, m. 1975, d. 2005, one daughter)
Daughter: Alexandra Butler

    University: BA, Columbia University (1949)
    Medical School: MD, Columbia University (1952)
    Teacher: Gerontology, Washington School of Psychiatry (1962-76)
    Professor: Geriatrics, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY (1982-2010)

    International Longevity Center USA President and CEO (1990-2010)
    Geriatrics Journal Editor (1986-2000)
    National Institutes of Health Director, National Institute of Aging (1976-82)
    US Public Health Service (1955-62)
    BioTime Board of Directors (2008-10)
    Member of the Board of Neurogen (1989-2009)
    Warren Pharmaceuticals Board of Directors (2000-10)
    Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction 1976, for Why survive? Being Old in America
    Alliance for Aging Research Board of Directors
    Alzheimer's Association Co-Founder
    American Geriatrics Society
    American Society of Aging
    Brookdale Foundation
    Century Club of New York
    Commonwealth Fund
    Cosmos Club
    Donald W. Reynolds Foundation
    Institute of Medicine 1979
    National Academy of Sciences 1979
    National Academy of Social Insurance
    National Institute of Mental Health
    National Institutes of Health National Institute on Aging
    Open Society Institute
    Philolexian Society
    Physicians for Human Rights
    World Health Organization

Author of books:
Aging and Mental Health (1973, with Myrna I. Lewis and Trey Sunderland)
Why Survive?: Being Old in America (1975)
Sex after Sixty (a/k/a Love and Sex after Sixty) (1976, with Myrna I. Lewis)
Productive Aging: Enhancing Vitality in Later Life (1985, with Herbert P. Gleason)
Productive Aging: Enhacing Vitality in Later Life (1986)
Love and Sex after 40 (a/k/a/ Mid-Life Love Life) (1986, with Myrna I. Lewis)
Human Aging Research: Concepts and Techniques (1988, with Barbara Kent)
Delaying the Onset of Late-Life Dysfunction (1995)
Cognitive Decline: Strategies for Prevention (1997, with Howard Fillit)
Older and Wiser: Public Policy Issues for an Aging America (1998)
Life in An Older America (1999)
Evidence-Based Mental Health Care (2005, with Simon Hatcher and Mark Oakley-Browne)
The Longevity Revolution: The Benefits and Challenges of Living a Long Life (2008)
The Longevity Prescription: 8 Proven Keys to A Long, Healthy Life (2010)


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