Henry Montagu Butler

Montagu Butler
Montagu Butler
Born	2 July 1833; Gayton, Northamptonshire, England
Died	14 January 1918 (aged 84); Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
Nationality	British
Education	Harrow School
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge
Occupation(s)	Headmaster, academic
Spouse(s)	Georgina Elliot; Agnata Frances Ramsay
Children	Edward Montagu Butler; A. H. M. Butler; Sir J. R. M. Butler; Sir Nevile Butler
Parent	Very Rev. George Butler
Relatives	George Butler (brother); Josephine Butler (sister-in-law); Montagu C. Butler (cousin); Guy Butler (grandson)

Henry Montagu Butler (2 July 1833 – 14 January 1918) was an English academic and clergyman, who served as headmaster of Harrow School (1860–85), Dean of Gloucester (1885–86) and Master of Trinity College, Cambridge (1886–1918).

Early life

Butler was the fourth son of George Butler, Headmaster of Harrow School and later Dean of Peterborough, and his wife Sarah Maria née Gray.

He was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge, matriculating in 1851. At Cambridge he won the Browne Medal in 1853 and 1854, the Camden Medal, and the Porson Prize in 1854, and was President of the Cambridge Union for Michaelmas term 1855. He graduated B.A. as senior classic in 1855, M.A. 1858, D.D. 1865.^[1]

Made a Fellow of Trinity in 1855, Butler was a tutor there 1855–1859. He was ordained deacon and priest in 1859.^[1]

Career

Butler succeeded Charles Vaughan (priest) as headmaster of Harrow School from 1860 to 1885, following in his father's footsteps. In this capacity he influenced many young people, including Stanley Baldwin (Prime Minister), Lord Davidson (Archbishop of Canterbury), John Galsworthy of the Forsyte Saga, ten bishops including Bishop Gore, and many others who went on to become establishment figures. He is credited with changing Harrow from a traditional seventeenth century institution to a rebuilt and well-equipped contemporary school.

He was appointed Dean of Gloucester in 1885, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge from 1886 to 1918, and Vice Chancellor of the University from 1889 to 1890.

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. He wrote one hymn, Lift up your hearts! We lift them, Lord, to thee in 1881. He died in Cambridge on 14 January 1918.^[2]

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

Trivia

Shane Leslie^[3] 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 brother of schoolmaster George Butler, whose wife was the social reformer Josephine Butler, and 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".^[4]

Family

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

Agnes Isabel Butler (1865–1949), married Edmund Whytehead Howson
Edward Montagu Butler (1866–1948), first-class cricketer and father of Olympic gold medallist Guy Montagu Butler
Edith Violet Butler (1869–1887)
Arthur Hugh Montagu Butler (1873–1943), House of Lords Librarian
Gertrude Maud Butler (1880–1933), married Bernard Morley-Fletcher^[5]

Secondly, in August 1888 at St George's, Hanover Square, aged 55, Butler married Agnata Frances Ramsay (1867–1931), a 21-year-old classicist who in 1887 attained the highest marks in the Classical Tripos at Cambridge. They had issue:

Sir James Ramsay Montagu Butler (1889–1975), politician
Gordon Kerr Montagu Butler (1891–1916), killed in action in the First World War
Sir Nevile Montagu Butler (1893–1973), diplomat

Notes

^ ^a ^b "Butler, Henry Montagu (BTLR850HM)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
^ GRO Register of Deaths: MAR 1918 3b 576 CAMBRIDGE – Henry M. Butler, aged 84
^ The Cantab, London: Chatto & Windus, 1926, p. 146
^ J.A.Gere and John Sparrow (ed.), Geoffrey Madan's Notebooks, Oxford University Press, 1981, at page 45
^ "Gertrude Maud (Queenie) Butler". The Cobbold Family History Trust. Retrieved 28 December 2019.

References

Bailey, Albert Edward (1950). The Gospel in Hymns. New York: Charles Scribner's sons. pp. 441–442.
"Papers of Sir James Ramsay Montagu Butler (1889–1975) historian".
"Hospital lobby, early". Archived from the original on 7 September 2006. Retrieved 17 February 2007.
The Master of Trinity at Trinity College, Cambridge
"Archival material relating to Henry Montagu Butler". UK National Archives.

Church of England titles
Preceded by Edward Bickersteth	Dean of Gloucester 1885–1886	Succeeded by Donald Spence Jones
Academic offices
Preceded by Charles 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

[venn-1] "Butler, Henry Montagu (BTLR850HM)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.

[2] GRO Register of Deaths: MAR 1918 3b 576 CAMBRIDGE – Henry M. Butler, aged 84

[3] The Cantab, London: Chatto & Windus, 1926, p. 146

[4] J.A.Gere and John Sparrow (ed.), Geoffrey Madan's Notebooks, Oxford University Press, 1981, at page 45

[5] "Gertrude Maud (Queenie) Butler". The Cobbold Family History Trust. Retrieved 28 December 2019.

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