A celebration to honor Butler County native Charles F. Richter Thursday included geologists from throughout the United States.

Richter, who was born on a farm in St. Clair Twp. in 1900, is most famously known as the creator of the Richter magnitude scale for measuring earthquakes.

“I used the scale for years when I taught earth science in high school and I felt I needed to pay my respects,” said Ron Martin, a registered geologist and Career Center Director at the College of the Ozarks in Missouri.

Martin, who is a Monroe High School graduate, happened to be in Dayton for a Geological Society of America conference when he heard of the event.

“Sometimes things just work out,” he said. “I’m very fortunate to be here and I’m really pleased they are doing this.”

Butler County commissioners, the St. Clair Twp. Trustees and the Butler County MetroParks all proclaimed April 26 — Richter’s birthday — as Charles F. Richter Day.

“We came here today to honor a kindly man who is known around the world,” said Anne Jantzen, a member of the group Friends of Richter that planned the event, which was held at the site of Richter’s Ohio Historical Marker near the intersection of Hamilton-Trenton and Busenbark roads. “I’m thrilled with this. We plan to do it every year.”

Jantzen said the next goal is to have the state legislature proclaim April 26 as Charles F. Richter Day in the entire state.

“We really want to work more with school children too so that when they learn about famous Ohioans, Richter is among them,” Jantzen said. “We seldom talk about him now and that’s a shame.”

Butler County Central Purchasing Director Randy Quisenberry represented the count commissioners at the event.

“I think Butler County has a tremendous history with respect to individuals,” he said. “It’s really neat to know that someone who made such an impact in the world of science is from right here in Butler County.”

Richter lived in Butler County until the age of 9 when he moved to California with his mother and grandfather. He attended the University of Southern California and Stanford University before entering the California Institute of Technology to work on a doctorate in theoretical physics.

Richter died in 1985 and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, Calif.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2852 or Skip.Weaver@coxinc.com.