Author: Butler, Samuel
Biography:
by
Jackson, Heather (HJ)
BUTLER, Samuel (1774-1839: ODNB)
Clergyman and educator. Born in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, he attended Rugby School and went on to St. John's College, Cambridge, where he was a notable prizewinner. He graduated in Mathematics in 1796. As Headmaster of Shrewsbury School for 38 years from 1798, he not only transformed his own school but set an example that was copied by others. On 4 Sept. 1798 he married Harriet Apthorp, with whom he had three children. He was made Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield after leaving Shrewsbury in 1836, and died at his episcopal palace in Staffordshire on 4 Dec. 1839. He was returned to St. Mary's, Shrewsbury, for burial. Butler edited the plays of Aeschylus and left a fine library, including manuscripts that were eventually sold to the British Museum. (ODNB 14 Jan. 2018) HJ