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Title
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Butler, Eloise (1851-1933)
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birthday
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1851-08-03
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Birthplace
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Appleton, ME
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Death Date
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1933-04-10
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Occupation
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Botanist, teacher
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Biographical Text
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Eloise was the third of four children born to Oliver and Margaretta Butler. The family was recorded to have an interest in herbal remedies, which is where her interest in botany sparked from. After graduating high school in 1870, Butler became a teacher before being enrolled in the Eastern State Normal School, which she graduated from in 1873. While she moved with her parents to Indiana, soon after she relocated again to Minneapolis, where she began her teaching career. While teaching, she pursued her own interests in botany by collecting samples, attending classes, and working for professors who took her on trips to other countries. She was a member of the Gray Memorial Botanical Chapter, and she submitted articles for circulation regarding her findings. Additionally, she helped to create and guard the Wild Botanical Garden, which protected the local flora and fauna from human destruction. After her retirement from teaching in 1911,Butler became the curator of the garden, and she worked to rescue plants from development areas and other places so that they would grow for her in the garden instead.
Eloise spent her life dedicated to botany and raising awareness to its importance. She died of a heart attack soon after retiring in 1933. The Garden that she cultivated over her lifetime was renamed in her honor just a few years prior, and after her death, friends and colleagues went to fulfill her final wishes.
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Contributor
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Zizelmann, Evelyn
