He was born on 20 October 1910 in Eastwood, a suburb of Sydney, the second of six children of Australian-born parents, Thomas Lyon Butlin, an orchard farmer and railway porter and Sara Mary, née Chantler.
[3] In 1926, when Butlin was 16 years old, his father was killed in a hit-and-run accident, leaving his wife and children penniless.
[1] This led to Butlin becoming the financial head of the household, with his mother and older sisters taking in washing to support the family.
[1] After being awarded many travelling scholarships, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge (B.A., 1934; M.A., 1939), where he gained the following accolades: Economics (first place, high distinction), English (second place, high distinction), the Frank Albert Prize for general proficiency and the Chamber of Commerce Prize for the best degree pass.
[1][5] He is the author and co-author of several seminal works in the fields of economics and history, including: Butlin died of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm on 14 December 1977 at the Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney, and was cremated.