Merchant (Fancy Goods)/Rubber Manufacturer
Centurion, 1866–1902
Born 9 August 1831 in Birmingham, Ohio
Died 12 November 1902 in New York (Manhattan), New York
Buried Green-Wood Cemetery
, Brooklyn, New York
Proposed by Sanford R. Gifford and Elliot C. Cowdin
Elected 1 December 1866 at age thirty-five
Proposer of:
Century Memorial
A native of Ohio, Richard Butler came to this city in his early manhood, and was identified during the remainder of his life with the business interests of New York. For twenty-eight years he was a member of the old house of William H. Cary & Co., and on retiring from that he established the Butler Hard Rubber Company, of which he was the head until his final retirement in 1898. He was always interested in art matters, and was one of the founders and a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The installation of Bartholdi’s famous statue in the harbor of New York was largely due to his untiring and effective labor as Secretary of the Committee having it in charge. He also took an active part in the Art Committee of the Union League Club, of which he was Chairman for a long period, during which he advanced the well-known exhibitions of that organization to a high level of excellence. He was a liberal and discriminating purchaser of pictures and was the owner of a considerable collection.
Edward Cary
1903 Century Association Yearbook
