George C. Butte
Encyclopedia
George Charles Butte was a jurist
, educator, and Republican
politician
from the U.S. state
of Texas
, who was his party's gubernatorial nominee in 1924 against the controversial Democrat
Miriam Wallace "Ma" Ferguson, one of the first two women governors in the United States.
U.S. President Herbert Hoover
appointed Butte as associate justice of the Philippine Islands Supreme Court, a position that he held from July 1, 1932, until February 1, 1936.
, California
, to Charles Felix Butte and the former Lena Clara Stoes. When he was nine years old, Butte's family moved to Hunt County
, east of Dallas
, Texas, where he was reared on a farm near Commerce
and attended public schools.
In 1895, he received his Bachelor of Arts
degree from Austin College
in Sherman
. He moved to Dublin
in Erath County
near Stephenville
, where on August 21, 1898, he married the former Bertha Lattimore (November 23, 1878–July 13, 1926). Thereafter, he received another bachelor's degree and in 1904 a Master of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin
. He received a Master of Arts
from UT in 1904. He studied at the University of Berlin in Berlin, Germany from 1911–1912, and received a degree in jurisprudence
from the University of Heidelberg in Germany in 1913. He also studied at the École de Droit in Paris, France
. Butte was admitted to the Texas bar in 1903, the Oklahoma
bar in 1904, and the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States
in 1907.
From 1904-1911, Butte practiced law in Muskogee
, Oklahoma, when he left the practice to travel and study in Europe
. During World War I
, Butte was chief of the Foreign Intelligence Section of the General Staff of the U.S. Army, based in Washington, D.C.
, with the rank of captain and then major
. On his return to Texas in 1919, Butte was asked by Democratic Governor William P. Hobby, Sr.
, who had succeeded James E. Ferguson
in 1917, to head a commission to draft public-utility laws.
ed the UT appropriation bill in 1917, a procedure by which a governor can strike out selected spending but keep other items in the bill intact. On Texas Independence Day, March 2, 1917, Butte delivered the address "Academic Freedom" or "In the Spirit of 1836" to reply to Ferguson's repudiation of the UT spending bill. Soon Ferguson was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives
, convicted by the state senate, and removed from office and thereafter ineligible to serve in a position of public trust.
Butte was thereafter the UT law school dean from 1923–1924, when he stepped down to run for governor against Mrs. Ferguson, Jim Ferguson's stand-in candidate, to succeed the retiring Democrat Pat Neff of Waco
. Butte polled ten times the votes of the party's 1922 nominee against Neff and is believed to have received a large vote from women, who first cast ballots in Texas in 1920 under the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
. Among those who supported Butte were dissident Democrats, Ku Klux Klan
smen, opponents of the Fergusons, and the small element of Republican voters at the time.
Butte also won the support of the former Houston Post
, then called the Houston Post-Dispatch and its owners, former Governor William Hobby and future Governor Ross Sterling, who was unseated in the 1932 Democratic primary by Miriam Ferguson.
In the 1924 general election
, Butte received 294,920 votes (41.1 percent) to Ferguson's 422,568 (58.9 percent). His strong showing for a Republican at that time required the GOP
to hold a gubernatorial primary in 1926, its first ever in Texas. Fewer than fifteen thousand voted in that contest, easily won by H.H. Haines of Galveston
, who was then crushed, 88-12 percent, by the Democratic nominee, Dan Moody
, the Texas Attorney General
, who had denied Mrs. Ferguson renomination in the summer primary runoff.
Butte again won the Republican gubernatorial primary in 1930 but withdrew in favor of William E. Talbot, who was then defeated by Ross Sterling. In 1932, Sterling was unseated by Mrs. Ferguson, who then repelled a stronger-than-usual Republican challenge from Orville Bullington
, an attorney from Wichita Falls
.
named Butte attorney general of Puerto Rico
. He was thereafter vice-chairman of the Puerto Rican Public Service Commission and served as acting governor of the island three times from 1926-1927. In 1928, he was named special assistant to United States Attorney General
John G. Sargent
. He was named vice governor of the Philippines on December 30, 1930 and was acting governor during 1931-1932 and secretary of public instruction of the Philippines prior to his appointment to the insular Supreme Court, which he held until 1936. At that time, the Texas Railroad Commission, a regulatory body under chairman Ernest O. Thompson
of Amarillo
, invited Butte to devise regulations for petroleum
and natural gas
conservation
in Texas.
d in 1933. Butte's third wife, the former Angela Montenegro, who was Filipino
, survived him but had died by 1974. Butte died at the age of sixty-two at the American Hospital in Mexico City
after undergoing surgery for an intestinal blockage.
Butte was a Baptist
and a member of the Masonic lodge
. He was affiliated with the American Society of International Law, the American Law Institute
, Alpha Tau Omega
, and Delta Theta Phi
. He was an honorary life member of the Texas state bar and in 1928 was named the honorary president of the Puerto Rican bar association. In 1913, he published Great Britain
and the Panama Canal
and Amerikanische Prisengerichtsbarketi. Butte was internationally known as an expert on colonial administration and international law
.
Woodfin Butte followed his father in a legal career, having received his degree from the Yale University School of Law. Woodfin Butte was a UT law professor, with expertise in civil, comparative and international law, the law of the sea, and the legal systems of Latin America
. He was previously an attorney for Standard Oil
based in London, England
. He died at the age of seventy-two while on a trip to Alaska
.
Butte is interred at Live Oak Cemetery in Dublin, Texas, beside his first wife Bertha and son, George Butte. Butte's papers are housed at the University of Texas Archives in Austin
.
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
, educator, and Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
from the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, who was his party's gubernatorial nominee in 1924 against the controversial Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Miriam Wallace "Ma" Ferguson, one of the first two women governors in the United States.
U.S. President Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
appointed Butte as associate justice of the Philippine Islands Supreme Court, a position that he held from July 1, 1932, until February 1, 1936.
Early years, education, military
Butte was born in San FranciscoSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, to Charles Felix Butte and the former Lena Clara Stoes. When he was nine years old, Butte's family moved to Hunt County
Hunt County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 76,596 people, 28,742 households, and 20,521 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 people per square mile . There were 32,490 housing units at an average density of 39 per square mile...
, east of Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas, where he was reared on a farm near Commerce
Commerce, Texas
Commerce is a city in Hunt County, Texas, United States, located in rural East Texas. The population was 7,669 at the 2000 census, however recent growth and its proximity to Interstate 30 and the eastern Metroplex has put the population around 9750...
and attended public schools.
In 1895, he received his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Austin College
Austin College
Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated by covenant relationship with the Presbyterian Church and located in Sherman, Texas, about 60 miles North of Dallas....
in Sherman
Sherman, Texas
Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's estimated population as of 2009 was 38,407. It is also one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. He moved to Dublin
Dublin, Texas
Dublin is a city located in southwestern Erath County in Central Texas. The population was 3,754 at the time of the 2000 census.The town is the home of the world's oldest Dr Pepper bottling plant...
in Erath County
Erath County, Texas
Erath County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2000, its population was 33,001. It is named for George Bernard Erath, an early surveyor and a soldier at the Battle of San Jacinto. The seat of the county is Stephenville....
near Stephenville
Stephenville, Texas
Stephenville is a city in and the county seat of Erath County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,921 at the 2000 census. Founded in 1856, it is home to Tarleton State University. Stephenville is among several communities that calls itself the "Cowboy Capital of the...
, where on August 21, 1898, he married the former Bertha Lattimore (November 23, 1878–July 13, 1926). Thereafter, he received another bachelor's degree and in 1904 a Master of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. He received a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
from UT in 1904. He studied at the University of Berlin in Berlin, Germany from 1911–1912, and received a degree in jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
from the University of Heidelberg in Germany in 1913. He also studied at the École de Droit in Paris, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Butte was admitted to the Texas bar in 1903, the Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
bar in 1904, and the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
in 1907.
From 1904-1911, Butte practiced law in Muskogee
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
, Oklahoma, when he left the practice to travel and study in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Butte was chief of the Foreign Intelligence Section of the General Staff of the U.S. Army, based in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, with the rank of captain and then major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
. On his return to Texas in 1919, Butte was asked by Democratic Governor William P. Hobby, Sr.
William P. Hobby
William Pettus Hobby was the publisher of the Houston Post and the 27th Governor of the U.S. state of Texas from 1917 to 1921....
, who had succeeded James E. Ferguson
James E. Ferguson
James Edward "Pa" Ferguson, Jr. , was a Democratic politician from the state of Texas.- Early life :Ferguson was born to the Reverend James Ferguson, Sr., and Fannie Ferguson near Salado in south Bell County, Texas. He entered Salado College at age twelve but was eventually expelled for...
in 1917, to head a commission to draft public-utility laws.
Gubernatorial campaign
From 1914-1917, Butte was a UT law professor and led the university's opposition to then Governor James Ferguson, who line-item vetoLine-item veto
In United States government, the line-item veto, or partial veto, is the power of an executive authority to nullify or cancel specific provisions of a bill, usually a budget appropriations bill, without vetoing the entire legislative package...
ed the UT appropriation bill in 1917, a procedure by which a governor can strike out selected spending but keep other items in the bill intact. On Texas Independence Day, March 2, 1917, Butte delivered the address "Academic Freedom" or "In the Spirit of 1836" to reply to Ferguson's repudiation of the UT spending bill. Soon Ferguson was impeached by the Texas House of Representatives
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
, convicted by the state senate, and removed from office and thereafter ineligible to serve in a position of public trust.
Butte was thereafter the UT law school dean from 1923–1924, when he stepped down to run for governor against Mrs. Ferguson, Jim Ferguson's stand-in candidate, to succeed the retiring Democrat Pat Neff of Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
. Butte polled ten times the votes of the party's 1922 nominee against Neff and is believed to have received a large vote from women, who first cast ballots in Texas in 1920 under the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits any United States citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex. It was ratified on August 18, 1920....
. Among those who supported Butte were dissident Democrats, Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
smen, opponents of the Fergusons, and the small element of Republican voters at the time.
Butte also won the support of the former Houston Post
Houston Post
The Houston Post was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper was absorbed into the Houston Chronicle.-History:The newspaper was established on February 19, 1880, by Gail Borden Johnson...
, then called the Houston Post-Dispatch and its owners, former Governor William Hobby and future Governor Ross Sterling, who was unseated in the 1932 Democratic primary by Miriam Ferguson.
In the 1924 general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
, Butte received 294,920 votes (41.1 percent) to Ferguson's 422,568 (58.9 percent). His strong showing for a Republican at that time required the GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to hold a gubernatorial primary in 1926, its first ever in Texas. Fewer than fifteen thousand voted in that contest, easily won by H.H. Haines of Galveston
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
, who was then crushed, 88-12 percent, by the Democratic nominee, Dan Moody
Dan Moody
Daniel James Moody, Jr. , was a Democratic political figure, originally from Taylor, Texas, USA. He served as the 30th Governor of Texas between 1927 and 1931, and is best remembered as a reformer and an opponent of the Ku Klux Klan...
, the Texas Attorney General
Texas Attorney General
The Texas Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Texas.The department has offices at the William P. Clements State Office Building at 300 West 15th Street in Austin.-History:...
, who had denied Mrs. Ferguson renomination in the summer primary runoff.
Butte again won the Republican gubernatorial primary in 1930 but withdrew in favor of William E. Talbot, who was then defeated by Ross Sterling. In 1932, Sterling was unseated by Mrs. Ferguson, who then repelled a stronger-than-usual Republican challenge from Orville Bullington
Orville Bullington
Orville Bullington was an attorney and businessman in Wichita Falls, Texas, who was the unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1932 against former Governor Miriam Wallace "Ma" Ferguson....
, an attorney from Wichita Falls
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
.
Later service
In 1925, after his gubernatorial defeat, President Calvin CoolidgeCalvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
named Butte attorney general of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. He was thereafter vice-chairman of the Puerto Rican Public Service Commission and served as acting governor of the island three times from 1926-1927. In 1928, he was named special assistant to United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
John G. Sargent
John G. Sargent
John Garibaldi Sargent was an American lawyer and statesman.-Biography:He graduated from Tufts College in 1887, and earned a master's degree from the same institution in 1912. He studied law in the interim and was admitted to the Vermont bar in 1890...
. He was named vice governor of the Philippines on December 30, 1930 and was acting governor during 1931-1932 and secretary of public instruction of the Philippines prior to his appointment to the insular Supreme Court, which he held until 1936. At that time, the Texas Railroad Commission, a regulatory body under chairman Ernest O. Thompson
Ernest O. Thompson
Ernest Othmer Thompson was a general in the United States Army during World War I, a mayor of Amarillo, Texas, an attorney, a businessman , and a 32-year member of the Texas Railroad Commission. He was recognized as a world authority on petroleum and natural gas production and conservation...
of Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
, invited Butte to devise regulations for petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
conservation
Energy conservation
Energy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources...
in Texas.
Personal life
George and Bertha Butte had five children, including sons Felix Butte, George Mitchell Butte (1903–1992) and Woodfin Lee Butte (November 1, 1908–September 19, 1981) and daughters Catherine Butte Jones (Married to Perry Lester Jones, Austin, Texas) and Pauline Butte, married name not given. After Bertha's death, Butte at some time thereafter married the former Mary Briux, from whom he was divorceDivorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d in 1933. Butte's third wife, the former Angela Montenegro, who was Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
, survived him but had died by 1974. Butte died at the age of sixty-two at the American Hospital in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
after undergoing surgery for an intestinal blockage.
Butte was a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
and a member of the Masonic lodge
Masonic Lodge
This article is about the Masonic term for a membership group. For buildings named Masonic Lodge, see Masonic Lodge A Masonic Lodge, often termed a Private Lodge or Constituent Lodge, is the basic organisation of Freemasonry...
. He was affiliated with the American Society of International Law, the American Law Institute
American Law Institute
The American Law Institute was established in 1923 to promote the clarification and simplification of American common law and its adaptation to changing social needs. The ALI drafts, approves, and publishes Restatements of the Law, Principles of the Law, model codes, and other proposals for law...
, Alpha Tau Omega
Alpha Tau Omega
Alpha Tau Omega is a secret American leadership and social fraternity.The Fraternity has more than 250 active and inactive chapters, more than 200,000 initiates, and over 7,000 active undergraduate members. The 200,000th member was initiated in early 2009...
, and Delta Theta Phi
Delta Theta Phi
Delta Theta Phi is a professional law fraternity and a member of the Professional Fraternity Association. The smallest of the three internationally recognized law fraternities , Delta Theta Phi is the only one of the three major law fraternities to charter chapters in the United States at...
. He was an honorary life member of the Texas state bar and in 1928 was named the honorary president of the Puerto Rican bar association. In 1913, he published Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
and Amerikanische Prisengerichtsbarketi. Butte was internationally known as an expert on colonial administration and international law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
.
Woodfin Butte followed his father in a legal career, having received his degree from the Yale University School of Law. Woodfin Butte was a UT law professor, with expertise in civil, comparative and international law, the law of the sea, and the legal systems of Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. He was previously an attorney for Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
based in London, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He died at the age of seventy-two while on a trip to Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
.
Butte is interred at Live Oak Cemetery in Dublin, Texas, beside his first wife Bertha and son, George Butte. Butte's papers are housed at the University of Texas Archives in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
.