John Marshall Butler (July 21, 1897March 14, 1978) was an American lawyer and politician. A Republican, he served as a United States Senator from Maryland from 1951 to 1963.
Early life and career
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, to John Harvey and Eunice West (née Riddle) Butler, he received his early education at public schools in his native city. He worked as a paperboy and later an employee at a mattress factory. During World War I, he served as a private in 110th Field Artillery (29th Division) of the US Army from 1917 to 1918.
After his military service, he returned to Baltimore and attended Johns Hopkins University (1919-1921) before joining his father's real estate business. In the general election, he faced four-term Democratic incumbent Millard Tydings. Butler received strong support from Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, whose accusations of Communist infiltration into the State Department had been rejected by the Tydings Committee.
Following the election results, Tydings petitioned the Senate to disqualify Butler due to McCarthy's campaign tactics. Former Senator Tydings had originally won the Democratic nomination, but later dropped out of the race due to poor health. but did not vote on the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In 1959 he was the lone Republican senator to vote against Hawaiian statehood.
Later life
After retiring from the Senate, Butler returned to Baltimore. At 80, he died from a heart attack in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, as he and his wife were returning from a vacation on St. Simons Island in Georgia.