Editing Butler County, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
Some famous inventions and discoveries were made in Butler County. [[Saxonburg, Pennsylvania|Saxonburg]] was founded as a Prussian colony by [[John A. Roebling]], a civil engineer, and his brother Carl. After farming for a time, Roebling returned to engineering, and invented his revolutionary "wire rope.", which he first produced at Saxonburg. He moved the operation to Trenton, New Jersey. He is best known for designing his most famous work, the [[Brooklyn Bridge]], but designed and built numerous bridges in Pittsburgh and other cities as well.

At what is now known as Oil Creek, Butler County resident William Smith and [[Edwin Drake]] first proved [[Petroleum|oil]] could be tapped from underground for consistent supply.

The [[Jeep]] was developed in Butler County by [[American Bantam]] in 1941.

Famous politicians have lived in and traveled through Butler County. U.S. Senator [[Walter Lowrie (politician)|Walter Lowrie]], the only senator from Butler, built a home in 1828 that still stands behind the Butler County Courthouse. The house has been adapted for use by the Butler County Historical Society. Butler's highest-ranked federal official is [[William J. Perry]], [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] under President [[Bill Clinton]] from 1994 to 1997. He graduated from Butler High School in 1945.

[[George Washington]] passed through this area during the [[French and Indian War]]. In 1923, the funeral train of President [[Warren G. Harding]] passed through Butler County on its way to [[Washington D.C.]] [[John F. Kennedy]] spoke in front of the [[Butler County Courthouse (Pennsylvania)|Butler County Courthouse]] during the [[1960 United States presidential election]]. [[Hubert Humphrey]] also campaigned in Butler. In 2004, Vice President [[Dick Cheney]] spoke in Saxonburg to campaign for President [[George W. Bush]] in the [[2004 United States presidential election]]. [[Donald Trump]], while president, campaigned at the Butler County Airport in 2020.

On July 13, 2024, Butler County was the site of an [[Attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania|assassination attempt]] of former President Donald Trump as he spoke at a campaign rally. Trump was shot in the ear and one spectator was killed. The shooter was also killed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Faheid |first=Tori B. Powell, Shania Shelton, Matt Meyer, Isabelle D'Antonio, Emma Tucker, Jessie Yeung, Dalia |date=2024-07-13 |title=Live updates: Trump injured in shooting at Pennsylvania rally that left at least 1 dead {{!}} CNN Politics |url=https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/election-biden-trump-07-13-24/index.html |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> The next day, authorities named [[Thomas Matthew Crooks]] as the perpetrator.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adler |first=Nils |title=Bomb-making materials found in car of Trump rally shooting suspect: Reports |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/7/14/donald-trump-rally-shooting-live-coverage |access-date=2024-07-14 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>

[[Bret Michaels]], lead singer of the rock band [[Poison (American band)|Poison]], was born here in 1963.