Smedley Butler

United States Marine Corps general, two time Medal of Honor recipient, activist, lecturer, official, and writer (1881-1940)
Person human Q556880
Smedley Butler
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Summary

Smedley Butler was born on July 30, 1881[1], in West Chester[2]. He died on June 21, 1940[3], in Naval Hospital Philadelphia[4]. He worked as a military officer[5], activist[6], lecturer[7], official[8], and writer[9]. He ranks in the top 0.57% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (10,163 views/month, #5,737 of 1,000,298).[10]

Key Facts

  • Place of burial: Oaklands Cemetery[11]
  • Father: Thomas S. Butler[12]
  • Country of citizenship: United States[13]
  • Field of work: military affairs[14]
  • Educated at: The Haverford School[15]
  • Notable work: War Is a Racket[16]
  • Award received: Medal of Honor[17], Marine Corps Brevet Medal[18], Navy Distinguished Service Medal[19], Distinguished Service Medal[20], Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal[21], Spanish Campaign Medal[22], China Relief Expedition Medal[23], Haitian Campaign Medal[24], Philippine Campaign Medal[25], Dominican Campaign Medal[26], Nicaraguan Campaign Medal[27], Mexican Service Medal[28], World War I Victory Medal[29], Yangtze Service Medal[30]
  • Member of: Veterans of Foreign Wars[31]
  • Sex or gender: male[32]
  • Member of political party: Republican Party[33]
  • Military branch: United States Marine Corps[34]
  • Commons category: Smedley D. Butler[35]
  • Military, police or special rank: major general[36]
  • Cause of death: cancer[37]
  • Participated in conflict: World War I[38], Spanish–American War[39], Banana Wars[40], Mexican Revolution[41], Boxer Rebellion[42], Philippine–American War[43]
  • Family name: Butler[44]
  • Given name: Smedley[45], Darlington[46]
  • Relative: Smedley Darlington[47]
  • Manner of death: natural causes[48]
  • Languages spoken, written or signed: English[49]
  • Nickname: Old Gimlet Eye[50]
  • Birth name: Smedley Darlington Butler[51]
  • Name in native language: Smedley Darlington Butler[52]
  • Start of work period: 1898[53]

Body

Works and Contributions

Things named for Smedley Butler include USS Butler[54], a destroyer[55].

Why It Matters

Smedley Butler has Wikipedia articles in 17 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[56] He is known by 32 alternative names across languages and contexts.[57]

Works attributed to him include War Is a Racket[58], a version, edition or translation[59]. Entities named for him include USS Butler[54], a destroyer[55].

FAQs

Where was Smedley Butler born?

Smedley Butler was born in West Chester[2].

Where did Smedley Butler die?

Smedley Butler died in Naval Hospital Philadelphia[4].

Who were Smedley Butler's parents?

Smedley Butler's father was Thomas S. Butler[12].

What did Smedley Butler do for work?

Smedley Butler worked as a military officer[5], activist[6], lecturer[7], official[8], and writer[9].

Where did Smedley Butler go to school?

Smedley Butler was educated at The Haverford School[15].

What awards did Smedley Butler receive?

Honors received include Medal of Honor[17], Marine Corps Brevet Medal[18], Navy Distinguished Service Medal[19], and Distinguished Service Medal[20].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  3. [32] ↑ . Virtual International Authority File. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [13] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [15] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [14] ↑ . Czech National Authority Database. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  8. [33] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  9. [5] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  11. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  12. [8] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  13. [9] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  14. [11] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  15. [17] ↑ . The Hall of Valor Project. wikidata.org.
  16. [18] ↑ . The Hall of Valor Project. wikidata.org.
  17. [19] ↑ . The Hall of Valor Project. wikidata.org.
  18. [20] ↑ . The Hall of Valor Project. wikidata.org.
  19. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  20. [22] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  21. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  22. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  26. [28] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  27. [29] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  28. [30] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  29. [34] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  30. [35] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  31. [36] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  32. [31] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  33. [37] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  34. [1] ↑ . SNAC. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  35. [3] ↑ . IMDb. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  36. [38] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  37. [39] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  38. [40] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  39. [41] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  40. [42] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  41. [43] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  42. [44] ↑ . International Standard Name Identifier. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  43. [45] ↑ . International Standard Name Identifier. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  44. [46] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  45. [16] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  46. [47] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  47. [48] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  48. [49] ↑ . IdRef. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  49. [50] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  50. [51] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  51. [52] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  52. [53] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [58] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [54] ↑ . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [59] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [55] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [10] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [56] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [57] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Smedley Butler. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/smedley-butler
MLA “Smedley Butler.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 11 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/smedley-butler.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_smedley-butler_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Smedley Butler}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/smedley-butler}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-11}}
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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 15w ago · Printstream · 2026-06-26 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14536 → 362661
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14536: 362661, #quickstatements; #temporary_batch_1782462304762"
  2. 16w ago · ~2026-35317-51 · 2026-06-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Nickname → {'lang': 'en', 'text': 'Old Gimlet Eye'}
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Nickname: 21"
  3. 17w ago · Gerwoman · 2026-06-13 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    National library of spain spmabn id (bne v1.0) → XX6397504
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/36246|batch #36246]]"
  4. 17w ago · Gerwoman · 2026-06-13 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    National library of spain spmabn id (bne v1.0) → XX6397504
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ National library of spain spmabn id (bne v1.0): XX6397504, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/259615|batch #259615]]"
  5. 17w ago · Gerwoman · 2026-06-13 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Languages spoken, written or signed → English
    Place of birth → West Chester
    Relative → Smedley Darlington
    Field of work → —
    + 32 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ National library of spain spmabn id (bne v1.0): 151452505, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/259615|batch #259615]]"
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