Nicholas M. Butler
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Nicholas Murray Butler (April 2, 1862 – December 7, 1947) was the co-winner with Jane Addams of the 1931 Nobel Peace Prize. Butler distinguished himself as president of Columbia University from 1902 to 1945 and as president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace from 1925 to 1945. He was also the Republican Party nominee for Vice President of the United States under President William Howard Taft in 1912 presidential race, when the nominated vice presidential candidate James S. Sherman died in office a few days before the election.
Butler was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey to manufacturer Henry Butler and Mary Murray Butler. He enrolled in Columbia College (which became Columbia University in 1896) and earned his bachelor of arts degree in 1882 at the young age of twenty, his master's degree in 1883, and his doctorate in 1884. It is these accomplishments, among others, that lended credibility to the epithet Nicholas Miraculous, a term coined by Theodore Roosevelt.
In 1885, he studied in Paris and Berlin and became a lifelong friend of future Secretary of State Elihu Root. Through Root he also became acquainted with Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. In the fall of that same year, Butler accepted a position on the staff of Columbia's philosophy department.
In 1887, he became the co-founder and President of the New York School for the Training of Teachers, which later affiliated with Columbia University and was renamed Teachers College, Columbia University. Throughout the 1890s Butler served on the New Jersey Board of Education and participated in forming the College Entrance Examination Board.
In 1901 he was installed as acting president of Columbia University and formally assumed the presidency in 1902. He remained in that office for forty-two years. During Butler's presidency, the university expanded its campus, erected a number of new buildings and added several new schools and departments. Among the innovations he oversaw was the opening of the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, the first academic medical center in the world.
Butler was a delegate to each Republican National Convention from 1888 to 1936. In the 1912 presidential election, Butler was Taft's running mate on the Republican ticket. In 1916, Butler failed in an effort to secure the Republican presidential nomination for Elihu Root. Butler himself attempted unsuccessfully to secure the Republican nomination for President in 1920 and 1928.
Butler became disillusioned with the negative effects he believed the 1920 national prohibition of alcohol was having on the country. He became active in the successful effort to bring about the repeal of prohibition in 1933.
Butler also chaired the Lake Mohonk Conference on International Arbitration that met periodically from 1907 to 1912. In this time he was appointed president of the American branch of International Conciliation. Butler was also instrumental in persuading Andrew Carnegie to make the initial investment in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace with $10 million. Butler became head of international education and communication, founded the European branch of the Endowment headquartered in Paris, and was President of the Endowment for twenty years.
Continuing the clear sense that he was trusted by the many internationalists in power, Butler was made President of the elite Anglo-American integration society, the Pilgrims Society. He served as President of the Pilgrims from 1928 to 1946.
Butler married in 1887 and had one daughter from that marriage. His wife died in 1903 and he married again in 1907. In 1940, Butler completed his autobiography.
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