Benjamin Franklin Butler (December 17, 1795–November 8, 1858) was a lawyer, legislator and Attorney General of the United States.

He was born in Kinderhook Landing, New York. He studied at the Academy in Hudson, New York, read law with Martin Van Buren, and when admitted to the bar in 1817, became his partner. Butler was district attorney of Albany County from 1821 to 1824. He was appointed one of the three commissioners to revise the State statutes in 1825. Butler was a member of the New York state legislature from 1827 to 1833. In 1833, he served as commissioner for the New York to adjust the New Jersey boundary line.

On November 15, 1833, President Andrew Jackson appointed Butler Attorney General, an office he held until 1838. From that year until 1841 he was United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Butler was made principal professor at the University of New York in 1837. He died in Paris, France.

This article contains material from the US Department of Justice Attorneys General of the United States (http://www.usdoj.gov/jmd/ls/agbiographies.htm#butler) which, as a US government publication, is in the public domain.