Edward Butler (inventor)

Edward Butler (1862–1940) was an English inventor who produced an early three-wheeled petrol automobile, marketed as the Butler Petrol Cycle. Butler having applied for a patent, granted as No. GB 15598, in November 1887, for: "Improvement in Hydrocarbon Motors and in the "Method of their Application for the Propulsion of Tricycles and other Light Vehicles", and built a prototype at F.B. Shuttleworth, of Erith, London.

Butler first showed plans for a three-wheeled petrol motor tricycle at the Stanley Cycle Show in London in 1884, and again at the 1885 Inventions Exhibition, also in London. Butler built his first car in 1888.

For comparison, Carl Benz, who is generally recognised as the inventor of the modern automobile, built his first working motorcar in 1885, and unveiled it to the public in 1886.