Robert N. Butler

Biography

Robert N. Butler was a pioneering gerontologist whose medical insight and compassion reframed how society views the aging process. As the first director of the National Institute on Aging and author of the term “ageism,” he championed research, policy, and public awareness to improve the lives of older Americans.

His tireless advocacy for dignity in eldercare, humane public policy, and scientific rigor echoes to this day, marking him as a guiding voice for intergenerational understanding, honored now at Rock Creek Cemetery.