Benjamin Butler
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York
In office March 14, 1845 – September 1, 1848
President	James K. Polk
Preceded by	Ogden Hoffman
Succeeded by	Charles McVean
In office December 10, 1838 – March 12, 1841
President	Martin Van Buren
Preceded by	William Price
Succeeded by	Ogden Hoffman
12thUnited States Attorney General
In office November 15, 1833 – July 4, 1838
President	Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren
Preceded by	Roger B. Taney
Succeeded by	Felix Grundy
Member of theNew York State Assembly fromAlbany County
In office January 1, 1828 – December 31, 1828 Serving with William N. Sill, David I. D. Verplanck
Preceded by	Isaac Hamilton, John Haswell, Henry Stone
Succeeded by	James D. Gardner, Moses Stanton, Chandler Starr
District Attorney of Albany County
In office February 19, 1821 – June 14, 1825
Preceded by	Samuel Foot
Succeeded by	Edward Livingston
Personal details
Born	Benjamin Franklin Butler (1795-12-17)December 17, 1795 Kinderhook Landing,New York, U.S.
Died	November 8, 1858(1858-11-08) (aged 62) Paris,France
Resting place	Woodlawn Cemetery,The Bronx, New York
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Harriet Allen (m. 1818-1853, her death)
Children	9, includingWilliam Allen Butler
Relatives	Alfred Booth(Grandson)
Signature

Benjamin Franklin Butler (December 17, 1795 – November 8, 1858) was a lawyer from the state ofNew York. A professional and political ally ofMartin Van Buren, among the many elective and appointive positions he held wereAttorney General of the United States andUnited States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. He was also a founder ofNew York University and one of the founders of theChildren's Village school inNew York City.^[1]

He was the son of Medad Butler and Hannah Butler (née Tylee) ofKinderhook Landing, inColumbia County, New York. He studied at Hudson Academy inHudson, New York, andread law withMartin Van Buren, whose sonJohn Van Buren later read law with Butler.

Butler was admitted to the bar in 1817, and became Martin Van Buren's partner. In his 1903 bookThe Art of Cross-Examination, author Francis L. Wellman indicated that Butler was regarded during his life as a highly effective trial lawyer, and one of the most successfulcross-examiners of his day.^[2]

Butler was one of the earliest members of theAlbany Regency. When fellow Regency member and Van Buren allyRoger Skinner was appointed Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of New York in 1819, he sold his law office to Butler, who took over Skinner's clients and pending cases.^[3]

Butler began his political career as district attorney ofAlbany County, serving from 1821 to 1825. He was appointed one of the three commissioners to revise the State statutes in 1825. Butler was a member from Albany County of theNew York State Assembly in1828. In 1833, he served as commissioner forNew York to adjust theNew Jersey boundary line.

On November 15, 1833,PresidentAndrew Jackson appointed Butler Attorney General, an office he held until 1838. From that year until 1841, and from 1845 to 1848, he wasUnited States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

He was a prominent participant in the1844 Democratic National Convention. As one of the leaders of the New York delegation, he supported the candidacy of Martin Van Buren and opposed the 2/3 rule for nominating, but failed in both cases. In the end, he was the one to announce that the New York delegation would switch to eventual winnerJames K. Polk. Van Buren recommended Butler to Polk for a cabinet position but told Polk that he was loath to leave his lucrative law practice and so would not agree unless offered the office ofSecretary of State. Polk ended up offering himSecretary of War, but Butler declined, stating that he would only accept State or Treasury.

He was also at the1848 Free Soil Convention, where he helped write the party platform.^[4]

Butler was a regent of theUniversity of the State of New York from 1829 to 1832. He was instrumental in foundingNew York University in 1831 and served in various capacities with the university from its inception. He received thehonorary degree ofLL.D. fromRutgers University in 1834. He was appointed principal professor ofNew York University in 1837.

In 1818, he married Harriet Allen; their children included attorneyWilliam Allen Butler, and Lydia Allen Butler, who married Alfred Booth and was the mother ofSir Alfred Allen Booth, 1st Baronet, a director ofAlfred Booth and Company and chairman ofCunard.

While visiting Europe in 1858, he died inParis, France. He was buried atWoodlawn Cemetery inThe Bronx.Fort Butler, one of the main forts built for the forced removal of theCherokee Indians on theTrail of Tears, was named for him.^[5]

• Levy, Uriah Phillips;Butler, Benjamin F. (1858).Defence of Uriah P. Levy: Before the court of inquiry held at Washington City, November and December, 1857 (ebook). Washington D.C.: W. C. Gardner. RetrievedMay 17, 2014.

• Thomas, Gordon L. (1959). "Benjamin F. Butler, prosecutor".Quarterly Journal of Speech.45 (3). Published on behalf of the National Communication Association 95th Anniversary in 2009:288–298.doi:10.1080/00335635909382362.ISSN 0033-5630.
• Finding Aid to Benjamin Butler Papers, 1796-1910 at theNew York State Library, accessed May 18, 2016.

• Media related toBenjamin Franklin Butler (lawyer) at Wikimedia Commons

• 1795 births
• 1858 deaths
• United States attorneys for the Southern District of New York
• People from Albany County, New York
• Attorneys general of the United States
• Albany County district attorneys
• Members of the New York State Assembly
• Regents of the University of the State of New York
• Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York)
• Van Buren administration cabinet members
• Jackson administration cabinet members
• American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law
• New York University faculty
• 19th-century members of the New York State Legislature

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