Edward Burgess Butler
American businessman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edward Burgess Butler (December 16, 1853 – February 20, 1928) was an American businessman who founded Butler Brothers department stores.[1][2] He served as the first president of the Pasadena Society of Artists.
Elizabeth Howe
Edward Burgess Butler | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | December 16, 1853 |
| Died | February 20, 1928 (aged 74) |
| Parent(s) | Manly Orville Butler Elizabeth Howe |
| Relatives | Orville Washington Butler, George Henry Butler, Arthur Caverno Butler, Charles Hamblet Butler, Frank Fairfield Butler, Sarah Elizabeth Butler, and Olivia Annette Butler, brothers and sisters |
Biography
He was born on December 16, 1853, in Lewiston, Maine to Manly Orville Butler and Elizabeth Howe. He had eight siblings: two of them, George H. Bulter and Charles H. Butler formed a partnership with Edward. Manly owned a grocery store. In 1858, his family moved to Boston, Massachusetts, and he attended the Boston public school system.[3]
Together with his brothers, George and Charles, he founded Butler Brothers in Boston in 1877.[3]
For five years he sold goods throughout New England and Canada as a traveling salesman. He married Jane Holly in 1880, she was the daughter of William Henry Holly, of Norwalk, Connecticut.[3]
With his wealth he collected works by George Inness, and later donated the collection to the Art Institute of Chicago. Having trained under Frank Charles Peyraud, Butler became a landscape painter. For a time he exhibited his works under a pseudonym, "Edward Burgess". In 1908, he exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago. One of his oil paintings was displayed at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915.[3]
Butler moved to Pasadena, California after he retired from business. He died in Pasadena, California on February 20, 1928.[2]
Titles
- Director of Illinois Merchants Trust Company
- Chairman of Ways and Means committee
- Chairman of the World's Columbian Exposition
- President of the Glenwood, Illinois Manual Training School
- Trustee of Hull House
- Trustee of Chicago Orphan Asylum
- Trustee of Girls' Refuge
- Trustee of First State Pawners' Society
- Trustee of Art Institute of Chicago
