Harcourt Butler

Who was Harcourt Butler?

Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, GCSI, GCIE, KStJ was an officer of the Indian Civil Services. He served as Lieutenant Governor of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh from 1918-1921 and later was the first governor of United Provinces of Agra and Oudh from 1921-22.

Educated at Harrow School and Balliol College, University of Oxford, Butler entered the Indian Civil Services soon afterwards, in 1890. He served as governor of United Provinces from 3 January 1921 to 21 December 1922, and was followed by Sir William Sinclair Marris. Butler later went on to serve as Governor of Burma from 2 January 1923 to 20 December 1927; he had already been lieutenant-governor of Burma from 28 October 1915 to 22 September 1917, and held the title briefly again from 21 December 1922 to 2 January 1923. On that date, the position became that of "Governor".

The Government of India in 1910 had appointed Sir Harcourt Butler as the first Member for Education with a seat on the Viceroy's Executive Council. He was also the first president of Delhi Gymkhana, founded in 1913. He was the brother of Sir Montagu Sherard Dawes Butler.