Dr. Robert Butler's Legacy in Defining and Fighting Ageism

Robert N. Butler, MD (1927–2010), coined the term "ageism" in 1969 to define an age-driven bigotry that disengaged older persons from virtually all sectors of American life. As founding director of the National Institute of Aging, as head of the first geriatrics department in a US medical school, and as a trailblazing idea broker, Dr. Butler continually sought to make Americans aware about the insidious effects of ageism. He accomplished much in promoting education and research, but Dr. Butler's personal and professional campaign to extirpate ageism remains his greatest legacy.