Archibald Butt
Archibald Willingham Butt (born September 26, 1865 in Augusta (Georgia) , † April 15, 1912 on the Titanic ) was an American military advisor .
Life
Butt came from an influential Georgia family. He was the son of Joshua Willingham Butt (1828–1879) and his wife Pamela Robertson Boggs (1839–1908). He graduated from the University of the South in Tennessee in 1888 and then began to write as a journalist for a daily newspaper from Louisville , the Louisville Curier Journal . Later, after settling in Washington, DC , he worked as a reporter for southern state newspapers . Around 1895 Butt became secretary of the US Embassy in Mexico under General Matt Ransom . After returning to the United States in 1898, Butt joined the United States Army and served as a lieutenant in the Spanish-American War . From 1900 to 1906 Butt was stationed in the Philippines , briefly also in Cuba , before he was appointed military advisor to US President Theodore Roosevelt and held this rank from 1908 under his successor William Howard Taft . This also raised Butt to the military rank of major .
Somewhat badly ill health - many personal disputes between Roosevelt and Taft were carried out on his back - he took a six-week vacation in 1912, which he and his friend, the painter Francis Davis Millet , spent in Europe , especially in Rome . The Titanic was supposed to go back to Washington. He lived in cabin B-38, Millet E-38, three decks below. Both perished in the sinking. A letter that Butt delivered to first-class passenger Marie Grice Young and addressed to President Taft is the last sign of life. His body, if recovered at all, has never been identified. The Millet-Butt Memorial Foundation was established in honor of the two men .
Butt's detailed personal letters on current affairs, which he wrote to his mother and to a sister-in-law after her death, are an illuminating historical source for the era of Presidents Roosevelt and Taft.
Letter issues
- The letters of Archie Butt, personal aide to President Roosevelt . Doubleday, Page, Garden City (NY) 1924
- Taft and Roosevelt, the intimate letters of Archie Butt . Doubleday, Doran & Co, Garden City (NY) 1930
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Butt, Archibald |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Butt, Archibald Willingham (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American military advisor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 26, 1865 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Augusta , Georgia , USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 15, 1912 |
| Place of death | Titanic |