Friday, July 9, 2010

Robert Butler, Who Coined 'Ageism' Passes

Dr. Robert Butler, a Pulitzer Prize-winning expert on aging who coined the phrase "ageism," has died in New York City, his daughter said. He was 83.

He died Sunday of leukemia at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Christine Butler said.

Butler, a gerontologist and psychiatrist, was the founding director of the National Institute on Aging, one of the National Institutes of Health. He wrote several books on aging, including the 1976 Pulitzer-winning "Why Survive: Being Old in America."

Butler coined the term "ageism," or age discrimination, in 1968, and led a task force that analyzed the impact of age prejudice in a 2006 report, "Ageism in America." It addressed age discrimination in the workplace, elder abuse and the media's role in perpetrating such bias.

Full Article and Source:
Robert Butler, Who Coined 'Ageism' Dies at 83

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Butler recognized age discrimination 40 long years ago.
It grew to today's feeding frenzy for professionals and nonprofits.

Holly said...

Just think... what kind of human being COULD DO what these so called, professionals and non profit employees DO to other human beings.
Just think... will it be worth it on Judgement Day? The courts won't be there to protect them then!!

Sue said...

Brilliant mind so long ago. He is 100% on target. May God Rest His Soul.

StandUp said...

Ageism is a big word and it's true. Teenagers can do the same thing elderly people do but with different results. People say teens are just teens and reckless. Elderly people, however, are labeled as having Alzheimer's.

tvfields said...

From: Tom Fields [mailto:tvfields@oh.rr.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2010 2:54 PM
To: 'Bloom, Harrison'
Subject: re. Robert Butler, who coined 'ageism,' dies at 83

Dear Dr. Bloom,

Please accept my condolences. Dr. Butler’s death means a lot to me, as it obviously does to you and many others, since I established a connection with Dr. Butler a little over a week ago, just before you replied to the phone message which I left you.

Dr. Butler did not sound well when I spoke with him on June 25th. Nevertheless, I hope you had the chance to discuss with him the information which I e-mailed him then and you on June 29th.

When you have time, I would like to follow-up my earlier contact with you and Dr. Butler regarding a 5-step forensic protocol which is intended to prevent the financial exploitation of the most vulnerable older adults at the time they execute wills, deeds, trusts, POAs and other important legal/financial documents. For example, based upon a recent phone conversation with Nancy Zweibel, Senior Program Officer for the Retirement Research Foundation, I believe ILC-USA could seek and obtain funding from the foundation for the purpose of further developing this protocol and legislation needed to mandate its use in those situations where it would be most applicable. I am hoping you will.

According to the foundation’s FAQs (http://www.rrf.org/RRFFAQs.htm), proposals are due February 1, May 1, and August 1. While it might be too much to expect, I am hoping the ILC-USA can meet the August 1 deadline.

Sincere regards,

Tom Fields
6860 Georgetown Drive
Mentor, Ohio 44060
440/255-7693