Edward Butler on his Petrol Cycle in 1889.
Before Automotive Giants Carl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler, and Henry Ford, there was Edward Butler.
Edward Butler (1862–1940) was an English engineer, inventor, and author of more than a dozen books on engines. In 1884, he designed the first petrol vehicle in Britain. It preceded Carl Benz’s patent for the first automobile by two years and Henry Ford’s first automobile by 12 years. If not for restrictive laws limiting vehicle speeds to a maximum of 4 mph (6.5 km/h), Edward’s name may have become synonymous with the modern car.
Early Life
Edward Butler was born in Bickington, Devon, England. His parents were Benjamin Gibbons Butler (abt. 1824–1887), a farmer, and Emma Compton (abt. 1824–1876).
In 1879, Edward began his career at the engineering firm and ironworks of Brown and May in Devizes, Wiltshire, England. There, he learned how to design and build traction engines, road locomotives, and steam engines.
After a couple of years of learning everything he could about engines at Brown and May, Edward moved to London to further his engineering career at Hatcham Ironworks.
Britain’s First Petrol Vehicle
In the first half of the 1800s, steam-powered and electric vehicles were in regular service throughout Britain. The vehicles were inefficient, expensive, and had to be charged frequently.
Recognizing the need for a more consumer-friendly means of transportation, Edward Butler designed Britain’s first petrol vehicle. He was just 22 years old.
Edward initially called his concept a Velocycle and received a provisional patent for the design of “a petroleum motor tricycle or small automobile carriage.” Carl Benz, generally recognized as the inventor of the modern automobile, was still almost two years away from receiving a patent for a “vehicle powered by a gas engine.”
In the hope of finding someone to fund the Velocycle, Edward revealed his design at the 1884 Stanley Cycle Show, an exhibition of bicycles and tricycles. He was unable to find interest at the show and tried again unsuccessfully at the Inventions Exhibition in 1885.
Butlers Petrol Cycle
Ultimately, Edward built a prototype of his design, and the provisional patent for it became official in 1887. He was granted Patent 15598 for “Butlers Petrol-Cycle Syndicate Limited Patent.” The name of the place where he built the prototype, F.B. Shuttleworth in Erith, London, was also mentioned in the patent.
After refining his design, Edward entered into a contract with Merryweather and Sons Fire Engine Works to build the Petrol Cycle in 1888. It was a gasoline-fueled three-wheeler driven by a 5/8 hp 600 cc flat twin four-stroke engine and cooled by a radiator. It was equipped with rotary valves, a float-fed carburetor, and Ackermann steering, which were all state-of-the-art at that time. Speed was controlled by a throttle valve lever, and a foot-operated lever that raised and lowered the rear wheel was used for stopping.
In an effort to commercialize his invention, Butlers Petrol-Cycle Syndicate Ltd. was formed to “market a small vertical internal combuste engine designed by Edward Butler” in 1890. Scientific American published an article about the Petrol Cycle on February 14, 1891. It said that one gallon of petroleum or benzolene could move the vehicle for 40 miles at a speed of 3–10 miles (5-16 kilometres) per hour.
The Red Flag Acts
Edward was able to generate investor interest in the new and improved Petrol Cycle, but he was unable to test it at sufficiently high speeds due to the Red Flag Acts.
The Red Flag Acts, which were the result of intense lobbying by horse-drawn carriage operators and the public railway industry to protect their investments, set a maximum speed for self-propelled vehicles of 2 mph (3 km/h) in heavily populated areas and 4 mph (6.5 km/h) in less populated areas. The acts also required three people to accompany each vehicle, with one person walking at least 60 yards ahead waving a red flag for safety.
According to one journalist at the time, the Red Flag Acts “effectively stopped innovation in powered road transport in Britain for over a quarter of a century.” Investors simply were not interested in funding a vehicle that could not legally be driven faster than 4 mph (6.5 km/h).
In an 1890 edition of The English Mechanic, Edward, despite having a vehicle that was better engineered than many of his automotive contemporaries, reluctantly acknowledged that “the authorities do not countenance its use on the roads, and I have abandoned in consequence any further development of it.”
Edward broke up his machine for scrap and liquidated the syndicate and its patents in 1896. The London Gazette published a winding-up notice for the company in 1898.
Automotive Author
After the syndicate ended, Edward turned his attention to manufacturing stationary and marine engines. He also authored over a dozen books on engines, including:
- Modern Pumping and Hydraulic Machinery as Applied to All Purposes, with Exploration of the Theoretical Principles Involved, Construction, Working, and Relative Advantages (12 editions published between 1913 and 2010)
- Carburettors, Vaporisers, and Distributing Valves Used in Internal Combustion Engines (13 editions published between 1909 and 1919)
- The Vaporizing of Paraffin for High-Speed Motors (Electric Ignition Type) (11 editions published between 1916 and 2019)
Legacy and Family
While Edward experimented with and wrote about engines, men like Carl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler, and Henry Ford became giants of the automotive world with an invention that could arguably be traced back to him.
In early 1900, Edward wrote a letter to The Autocar magazine. A portion of it was published on April 7, 1900, and contained the following quote from Edward:
“Now that public attention is being drawn to the early attempts of the two German pioneers, Benz and Daimler, I trust that you may find space in your journal for an illustration of a small petrol vehicle, which I believe was absolutely the first made in this country, and if I could have interested any one to finance it when the drawings were exhibited at the Stanley Show in 1884, and the following year at the Inventions Exhibition, I should have been contemporaneous, if not earlier than either of them. Although I cannot claim to have done very much in the light of the present enormous development of the automotor trade, it may have been forgotten that I carried out a series of experiments in the perfecting of a motor vehicle at a time when progress was much hindered by the prejudice and want of interest – the motor part of which has been since used in many types of engines for industrial purposes.”
Edward married Kate (“Kitty”) Gildersleve (1863-1938), and they had a son, Eric Norman Butler (1893-1981).
Eleven years after his 1940 death in Surrey, United Kingdom, many of Edward’s papers were found. They brought his work to the attention of automotive enthusiasts all over the world. His books can still be found in bookstores and libraries today.
Automotive Butler Aboo!
Primary Sources:
- Bellis, Mary. “The History of Steam-Powered Cars.” ThoughtCo, Aug. 26, 2020.
- Benz Patent Motor Car: The First Automobile (1885–1886) | Mercedes-Benz Group. (n.d.).
- Edward Butler – Wikipedia. (n.d.). Edward Butler – Wikipedia.
- Edward Butler (inventor). (2017, August 18). Alchetron.com.
