Karl W. Butzer

Karl W. Butzer, pre-eminent geographer, geo-archaeologist, cultural ecologist, environmental scientist, died May 4, 2016, in Austin, TX, at the age of 81. Karl Butzer was born in Muelheim-Ruhr, Germany. He emigrated with his parents and brother at the age of three as a Catholic refugee, residing first in England (1937-41) and then in Montreal, Canada (1941-55).

Culture and context through time were the focus of Butzer's life-long work. Changing environments signaled opportunities for people to adapt and survive. Understanding the issues, he posited, is dependent upon a complex tapestry of geography, archaeology, history, anthropology and climatology. His research opened up the fields of paleo-climatology, ecology, and archaeology.

Butzer's professional and extensive fieldwork took him to many faraway places, including Egypt, Nubia, South Africa and Namibia, Spain, Mexico, Australia, and Ethiopia. It was in East Africa (Ethiopia) where Karl established the age of modern humans' sites as older than one hundred thousand years, three times the age previously accepted, thus setting the stage for bio-molecular studies proposing the "out of Africa" model of humanization.

Butzer received a B.Sc. (Honors) in Mathematics (1954) and a M.Sc. in Meteorology and Geography (1955) from McGill University, Montreal, and his doctorate (Dr. rer.nat.) in Physical Geography and Ancient History (1957) from University of Bonn, Germany. In Bonn, he met and married Elisabeth Schloesser, and together they set out on a journey that, over the course of the next five decades, took them to Madison, Wisconsin, Chicago, and Austin.

Karl taught at the University of Wisconsin (1959-66), ETH Zurich (1981-82) and was the Henry Schultz Professor of Environmental Archaeology at The University of Chicago (1966-84) before his appointment as Raymond Dixon Centennial Professor of Geography at The University of Texas (1984-2016). In 2005, he received an Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award of The University of Texas.

His fifteen books and monographs and more than 275 refereed scientific papers or chapters document his original, field-based studies. Some of his publications have been translated into Spanish, Catalan, Hungarian, French, Russian and Chinese. Karl authored at least one unpublished work, Confessions of an Academic Cat, replete with stories told by his cat, Scoobey.

Karl was the recipient of numerous awards across several disciplines, among them the Busk Medal of the Royal Geographical Society (1979), the Fryxell Medal of the Society for American Archaeology (1981); and was elected to both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1984) and the National Academy of Sciences (1996). In 2011, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Stirling, Scotland.

Those who knew Karl remember him as an astute observer (observational skills, he believed, are best honed not by endless repetition under similar parameters but by comparing and contrasting); a challenger of the status quo; critical of favoritism and the privileged; and a champion of diversity and the "little guy," especially ethnic minorities. He loved Verdi and Puccini, as well as a good murder mystery. His children will always remember him as a genius Easter egg hider, a nurturer, and a gentle guide who encouraged them to explore the fascinating world around them.

Karl was a dedicated and loving husband, father and grandfather. He is survived by Elisabeth, his wife of 56 years, together with whom he researched, collaborated in the field and co-authored a number of publications; their children: Helga Butzer Felleisen, whose work as an artist engages memory and identity, and whose research takes her to the world of Classical Greece; Carl Butzer, an intellectual property attorney in Dallas (and Michelle); Kieke Butzer, M.Ed., a teacher (and Cecil); and Hans Butzer, AIA, an architecture professor (Torrey); their seven grandchildren: Christopher Felleisen, a math teacher (and Rachel); Sebastian Felleisen, a mechanical engineer like Karl's father; Madison Butzer, who loved spending time with Opa exploring an atlas; Michael Butzer, Karl's latest fellow Longhorn; and Daisy, Isabella, and Berlin Butzer, a.k.a. Opa's three young blondes. Karl is also survived by his older brother, Paul L. Butzer, in Germany, as well as the many friends, colleagues, and former students whose lives he changed.

Visitation will be held from 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 2620 South Congress with Recitation of the Holy Rosary to begin at 7:00 pm. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 am on Friday, May 13, 2016 at St. John Neumann Catholic Church.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to "Doctors Without Borders" at

https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/onetime.cfm.