Charles Henry Butler - Definition

Charles Henry Butler (June 18, 1859-February 9, 1940) was an American lawyer and the tenth reporter of decisions of the United States Supreme Court, serving from 1902 to 1916.

Born in New York City, he was the grandson of United States Attorney General Benjamin F. Butler. He attended Princeton University, but did not graduate. Nevertheless, he was admitted to the New York bar in 1882 and practiced there until 1902. He was a member of the Fairbanks-Herschell Commission that fixed the Alaska-Canada border and was a delegate to The Hague peace conference in 1907. Butler resigned as reporter because he found the work boring and he hated the anonymity of the work. He resumed the practice of law in 1916 in Washington, D.C.. In 1940, he published an anecdotal history of the Supreme Court. He died in Washington.