Montagu Butler

For the academic and musician, see Montagu C. Butler.

Montagu Butler
File:Henry Montagu Butler by Hay.jpg Caricature by Hay in Vanity Fair
Born	(1833-07-02)2 July 1833 Gayton, Northamptonshire, England
Died	Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
Nationality	British
Occupation	Headmaster, Academic
Spouse(s)	(1) Georgina Elliot (2) Agnata Frances Ramsay

File:Henry Montagu Butler, Vanity Fair, 1903-05-28.jpg

"Trinity". Caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1903.

Henry Montagu Butler (called Montagu; 2 July 1833 – 14 January 1918) was an English academic.

He was the son of a previous Headmaster of Harrow School, George Butler and his wife Sarah Maria (née Gray). Educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge, he married Georgina Elliot in 1861. He married his second wife in 1888, a very young Agnata Frances Ramsay who in 1887 attained the highest marks in the Classical Tripos at Cambridge. He had two sons and three daughters by his first wife, and another son by his second wife – the historian Sir James Butler. A talented and versatile Latinist, Butler achieved fame as one of the most adept British composers of Latin (and Greek) verse in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Service

Similarly to his father he served as headmaster of Harrow (1859 to 1885). He was then appointed Dean of Gloucester Cathedral in 1885 and was also Master of Trinity College, Cambridge from 1886 to 1918, Vice Chancellor of the University, 1889–1890. As headmaster, he influenced many young people, including Stanley Baldwin (Prime Minister); Lord Davidson (Archbishop of Canterbury); Galsworthy of the Forsyte Saga; 10 bishops, including Bishop Gore; 17 judges; 4 viceroys; 12 governors; 12 ambassadors; 33 privy councillors; and 64 generals. He changed Harrow from a hide-bound and backward seventeenth century institution to a rebuilt and well-equipped contemporary school. He wrote one hymn, Lift up your hearts! We lift them, Lord, to thee in 1881. He died in Cambridge on 14 January 1918.

Trivia

Shane Leslie described him as "the Master of Trinity, a bland Olympian in a black skull-cap with a white Jovine beard and an untiring flow of the lengthy anecdotes that are told in Heaven after the nectar has gone round twice.”

Butler's desk was donated to Duke Hospital by Dr. William John Dann in March 1938. After it had been moved to storage, circumstances led the school to refinish it and hence to discover the plaque telling of its historical significance.

Henry Montagu Butler was the first cousin once removed to Montagu Christie Butler, with whom he may easily be confused if either is referred to simply as "Montagu Butler". He was also the Great uncle of Richard Austen 'Rab' Butler, who also became Master of Trinity.

A. C. Benson recounted how Butler fell asleep during a College meeting and awoke with the emphatic observation, "A strong case, tellingly put".

Family

Butler married twice. Firstly, on 19 December 1861, to Georgina Isabella Elliot (1839–1883), with issue:

1. Agnes J. Butler, b. 1865
2. Edward M. Butler, b. 1867
3. Edith Violet Butler (1869–1887)
4. Arthur Montagu Butler, b. 1873
5. Gertrude M. Butler, b. 1880

Secondly, in 1888 at St George's Hanover Square, to Agnata Frances Ramsay (1867–1931), with issue:

1. James Ramsay Montagu Butler (1889–1975)
2. Gordon K. Butler (1891–1916)
3. Nevile Butler (1893–1973)

References

• The Master of Trinity at Trinity College, Cambridge
• Archival material relating to Montagu Butler listed at the UK National Archives

Academic offices
Preceded by Charles John Vaughan	Head Master of Harrow School 1860–1885	Succeeded by James Welldon
Preceded by William Hepworth Thompson	Master of Trinity College, Cambridge 1886–1918	Succeeded by J. J. Thomson
Preceded by Charles Edward Searle	Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge 1889–1890	Succeeded by John Peile