Walter Halben Butler

Born in Springboro, Pennsylvania on February 13, 1852,[1] Butler moved to Minnesota in 1868 with his parents, who settled in Mankato, in Blue Earth County.[2] He attended public and private schools, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1875.[2] He was a wrestler and sprinter there, and is credited as the first to run the 100-yard dash in 10 seconds.[3]

After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1875 and commenced practice in Princeton, Wisconsin.[2] He moved to Iowa in 1876 and taught school at La Porte City until 1878, and at Manchester until 1880.[2]

He moved to West Union, Iowa, in 1883 and became owner and publisher of the Fayette County Union.[2] From 1885 to 1889, he served as superintendent of the Railway Mail Service's tenth division, at St. Paul, Minnesota.[2] He returned to West Union, and resumed his former newspaper pursuits.[2]

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.[2] After defeating Sweney in the general election as part of a Democratic landslide, he served in the Fifty-second Congress.[2] In 1892 he was defeated in his first re-election bid, by former Republican Congressman Thomas Updegraff.[2] Butler served in Congress from March 4, 1891 to March 3, 1893.[2]

After leaving Congress, he returned to northeastern Iowa for five years.[2] He moved to Des Moines, Iowa, in 1897 and to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1907.[2] He engaged in the real estate and loan business and, later in banking.[2] He died in Kansas City on April 24, 1931.[2][3] He was interred at Forest Hill Cemetery in Kansas City.[2]

• United States Congress. "Walter Halben Butler (id: B001193)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Walter Halben Butler at Find a Grave

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.