Butters, F. K. (Frederic King), 1878-1945

Frederic King Butters was born and raised in Minneapolis. He received his bachelor's degree at the University of Minnesota and did further study at Harvard University where he earned his Ph.D. in 1917. He started teaching at the University of Minnesota in 1901 where he continued until his death in 1945. Although his field was botany, he was also accomplished in mathematics and other non-botanical subjects and taught courses in those disciplines during World War I.

Upon the establishment of the Minnesota Seaside Station on Vancouver Island in 1901, Butters accompanied Professors Conway McMillan and Josephine Tilden to study and teach botany. He made several return trips to the Seaside Station, the last in 1910 with C.O. Rosendahl, botany professor and later Chairman of the department.

Professor Butters was an avid traveler who frequently visited the Selkirk Mountains and traveled in Canada and Europe with friends Lee I. Smith (University of Minnesota chemistry professor) and Edward W. D. Holway (an Iowa banker and later University of Minnesota botany professor).

From the guide to the Frederic King Butters papers, undated, 1862-1962, (University of Minnesota Libraries. University of Minnesota Archives [uarc])