Brawn GP driver Button climbed from 14th on the grid to finish fifth and become the tenth British man to win the title.
Much of this is down to the first seven races, when he won six times to build up a lead of 26 points over Brazilian team mate Rubens Barrichello after the Turkish Grand Prix in June.
Although Button then failed to win another race all season, he finished consistently in the points in a reliable car to preserve his lead over Barrichello and Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.
This was a fairytale debut season for Brawn GP, who also won the Constructors' title at Interlagos.
The team was formed by former Benetton and Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn just weeks before the start of the season in the wake of Honda's withdrawal.
Nevertheless, the Brawn team made quite an introduction. Button was on pole and he led home a 1-2 in Australia, the first team to achieve this feat on their debut since Mercedes in 1954.
Button was again on pole in Malaysia and won a race which was truncated by torrential downpours, meaning the drivers scored half-points.
Vettel finished third to pick up his first points of the season while Barrichello was in fourth as the race was halted after 31 of the scheduled 56 laps.
At the third race of the season, the Red Bulls fought back.
Vettel put his car on pole and he led home a 1-2 ahead of Webber but Button in third still slightly increased his lead from five points to six over fourth-placed Barrichello.
And the 29-year-old from Frome in Somerset stretched the lead to 12 points when he won the Bahrain Grand Prix with Barrichello in fifth.
In Spain and Monaco, Barrichello returned to form but could only finish second to Button who won both races from pole.
Remarkably, the 1-2 in Monaco was Brawn GP's third of the season in the opening six races as Barrichello remained Button's closest challenger.
But while Button benefited at the Turkish Grand Prix from pole-sitter Vettel making a mistake on the opening lap to win his sixth race out of seven, Barrichello became the first Brawn GP retiree of the season with a gearbox problem. The gap was up to 26 points.
Since then, Button has not won another Grand Prix all season, and he has been out-qualified by team-mate Barrichello regularly.
But he has finished out of the points just once, when retiring at Spa in Belgium.
His championship rivals have also been so evenly-matched that none has been able to launch a proper challenge.
Red Bull drivers Vettel and Webber picked up a win each in Britain and Germany respectively with Button picking up seven points by finishing sixth then fifth.
Button's position was strengthened even further at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The race in Budapest saw the return to form of 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton but will be most remembered for Ferrari driver Felipe Massa's horrific injury caused by a suspension spring which struck him on the head during qualifying.
Although Hamilton won the race for McLaren, Button's seventh place finish compared favourably against Vettel who retired with suspension failure and Barrichello who failed to score in 10th.
Australian Webber, who finished third, now became Button's nearest rival but even he was some 28.5 points back. It was the biggest lead that Button would hold.
Barrichello picked up a much-needed win at the European Grand Prix in Valencia to regain second place in the standings. With Button finishing only seventh, the lead was dented to 18 points.
Barrichello's big chance came at the Belgian Grand Prix when he qualified fourth, well ahead of Button in 14th.
But the Brazilian made a terrible start to the race - and although Button retired on the first lap, his team-mate could only finish seventh and close the gap by two points to 16.
A second win in three races for Barrichello gave him some redemption but Button limited the damage by following him home in second for Brawn GP's fourth 1-2.
Nevertheless, the lead was down to 14 points. It had been halved in three races with four left. Button needed a good result at the next meeting at the night race in Singapore - and he got it.
Lewis Hamilton won his second race of the season but with none of Button's rivals on the podium and Vettel only one place ahead, this was a successful race as he kept Barrichello behind him.
The Brawn GP drivers finished fifth and sixth as Button increased to his lead to 15 points with three races remaining. Mark Webber's retirement left him 32.5 points behind and out of the running.
With Webber out of the championship race, Red Bull were able to favour Vettel and the German delivered at the Japanese Grand Prix, winning his third race of the season from pole.
Button finished down in eighth but he was just one place behind Barrichello who remained 14 points behind in the standings. Vettel was 16 points behind.
But the Drivers' championship seemed destined to go to the final race after a nightmare result for Button in a rainy qualifying session in Brazil.
While Rubens Barrichello put his car on pole in his home race, Button could not even make it through Q2 and was 14th.
The only consolation for Button was that Vettel had an even worse session and was down in 16th.
But Barrichello's luck at Interlagos deserted him once again, a late puncture meaning he ultimately finished eighth.
Button drove more aggressively than usual and his overtaking was outstanding as he battled up from 14th to fifth by avoiding the crashes and passing Romain Grosjean, Kazuki Nakajima, Kamui Kobayashi and Sebastian Buemi.
There have been doubters who could not see Button getting over the line after his big lead was eroded.
While qualifying was disappointing and he may still not have won the race, his drive during it showed this was a worthy victory.The emotion of the occasion was all too much for Ross Brawn and Button's father, John.
It is hard to believe now that Button was without a seat for the 2009 season before Brawn GP were hastily formed.
He has gone from zero to hero and reached the pinnacle of his career.
FOR THE RECORD
The 2009 Formula One season - race-by-race
Australian GP (29 March)
Pole: Jenson Button
Result: 1 Jenson Button, 2 Rubens Barrichello, 3 Jarno Trulli
Standings:Button 10, Barrichello 8, Vettel 0, Webber 0
Constructors: Brawn GP-Mercedes 18, Red Bull-Renault 0
Malaysian GP (5 April)
Pole: Jenson Button
Result: 1 Jenson Button, 2 Nick Heidfeld, 3 Timo Glock
Button 15, Barrichello 10, Webber 1.5, Vettel 0
Brawn GP-Mercedes 25, Red Bull-Renault 1.5
Chinese GP (19 April)
Pole: Sebastian Vettel
Result: 1 Sebastian Vettel, 2 Mark Webber, 3 Jenson Button
Button 21, Barrichello 15, Vettel 10, Webber 9.5
Brawn GP-Mercedes 36, Red Bull-Renault 19.5
Bahrain GP (26 April)
Pole: Jarno Trulli
Result: 1 Jenson Button, 2 Sebastian Vettel, 3 Jarno Trulli
Button 31, Barrichello 19, Vettel 18, Webber 9.5
Brawn GP-Mercedes 50, Red Bull-Renault 27.5
Spanish GP (10 May)
Pole: Jenson Button
Result: 1 Jenson Button, 2 Rubens Barrichello, 3 Mark Webber
Button 41, Barrichello 27, Vettel 23, Webber 15.5
Brawn GP-Mercedes 68, Red Bull-Renault 38.5
Monaco GP (24 May)
Pole: Jenson Button
Result: 1 Jenson Button, 2 Rubens Barrichello, 3 Kimi Raikkonen
Button 51, Barrichello 35, Vettel 23, Webber 19.5
Brawn GP-Mercedes 86, Red Bull-Renault 42.5
Turkish GP (7 June)
Pole: Sebastian Vettel
Result: 1 Jenson Button, 2 Mark Webber, 3 Sebastian Vettel
Button 61, Barrichello 35, Vettel 29, Webber 27.5
Brawn GP-Mercedes 96, Red Bull-Renault 56.5
British GP (21 June)
Pole: Sebastian Vettel
Result: 1 Sebastian Vettel, 2 Mark Webber, 3 Rubens Barrichello
Button 64, Barrichello 41, Vettel 39, Webber 35.5
Brawn GP-Mercedes 105, Red Bull-Renault 74.5
German GP (12 July)
Pole: Mark Webber
Result: 1 Mark Webber, 2 Sebastian Vettel, 3 Felipe Massa
Button 68, Vettel 47, Webber 45.5, Barrichello 44
Brawn GP-Mercedes 112, Red Bull-Renault 92.5
Hungarian GP (26 July)
Pole: Fernando Alonso
Result: 1 Lewis Hamilton, 2 Kimi Raikkonen, 3 Mark Webber
Button 70, Webber 51.5, Vettel 47, Barrichello 44
Brawn GP-Mercedes 114, Red Bull-Renault 98.5
European GP (23 August)
Pole: Lewis Hamilton
Result: 1 Rubens Barrichello, 2 Lewis Hamilton, 3 Kimi Raikkonen
Button 72, Barrichello 54, Webber 51.5, Vettel 47
Brawn GP-Mercedes 126, Red Bull-Renault 98.5
Belgian GP (30 August)
Pole: Giancarlo Fisichella
Result: 1 Kimi Raikkonen, 2 Giancarlo Fisichella, 3 Sebastian Vettel
Button 72, Barrichello 56, Vettel 53, Webber 51.5
Brawn GP-Mercedes 128, Red Bull-Renault 104.5
Italian GP (13 September)
Pole: Lewis Hamilton
Result: 1 Rubens Barrichello 2 Jenson Button, 3 Kimi Raikkonen
Button 80, Barrichello 66, Vettel 54, Webber 51.5
Brawn GP-Mercedes 146, Red Bull-Renault 105.5
Singapore GP (27 September)
Pole: Lewis Hamilton
Result: 1 Lewis Hamilton, 2 Timo Glock, 3 Fernando Alonso
Button 84, Barrichello 69, Vettel 59, Webber 51.5
Brawn GP-Mercedes 153, Red Bull-Renault 110.5
Japanese GP (4 October)
Pole: Sebastian Vettel
Result: 1 Sebastian Vettel, 2 Jarno Trulli, 3 Lewis Hamilton
Button 85, Barrichello 71, Vettel 69
Brawn GP-Mercedes 156, Red Bull-Renault 120.5
Brazilian GP (18 October)
Pole: Rubens Barrichello
Result: 1 Mark Webber, 2 Robert Kubica, 3 Lewis Hamilton
Button 89, Vettel 74, Barrichello 72
Brawn GP-Mercedes 161, Red Bull-Renault 135.5
Abu Dhabi GP (1 November)
Pole: tbc
Result: tbc
FOR THE RECORD
Previous British F1 World Champions
1958 Mike Hawthorn (Ferrari)
1962 Graham Hill (British Racing Motors)
1963 Jim Clark (Lotus-Climax)
1964 John Surtees (Ferrari)
1965 Jim Clark (Lotus-Climax)
1968 Graham Hill (Lotus-Ford)
1969 Jackie Stewart (Matra-Ford)
1971 Jackie Stewart (Tyrrell-Ford)
1973 Jackie Stewart (Tyrrell-Ford)
1976 James Hunt (McLaren-Ford)
1992 Nigel Mansell (Williams-Renault)
1996 Damon Hill (Williams-Renault)
2008 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes)
2009 Jenson Button (Brawn GP-Mercedes)
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